Can't You Read the Signs?
by PyroQueenOfFire
Summary: Clara is a descendant of a man who lived when the first Transformers came to Earth, and is Sam's childhood friend. When she realizes she's the only one that can stop inevitable annihilation, she needs her secret crush's help. Sam/OC; Optimus Friendship
1. Optimus

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Okay, so I have loved Shia Labeouf since Monkey Business and Even Stevens, and though Crystal Skull pretty much tried to eat my soul, he has been amazing for me for ages and ages.**

**He's also really the only man my age that I love.**

**My friends keep telling me I have good taste because I've crushed on him since '99 and apparently NOW he's sexy.**

**Guys?**

**He was sexy BEFORE now.**

**Lol**

**But yeah, this is because I saw Revenge of the Fallen and Sam and Optimus pretty much pieced my soul back together and I needed to thank them by writing about them.**

**So I hope you enjoy and if no one reads, oh well—I'll keep posting anyway.**

**=P**

******

**This story takes place after the second movie mostly with my own adventure for them, but has to get there.**

**It kind of has parts of the climax from the second movie and then it has flashbacks too for the first three chapters.**

**So I'm sorry to spoil the movie for you…don't read if you haven't seen the second movie yet and don't want to be spoiled.**

****

"OPTIMUS!" Sam called out desperately as Megatron sliced off part of the metal on Optimus' face, holding Clara back as she went for him. "No! You can't help him!"

Clara struggled against his strong hold on him. "He needs our help! We can't just stand here!"

"It's us two against two giant Decepticons!" Sam protested.

Sam pulled her down to safety and held onto her, making her bury her head into his chest. If this was the end for him she didn't want to watch. There was too much history there and she couldn't watch him be slaughtered in front of her—watch him be slaughtered trying to save her and Sam.

_Clara sat down the hill out a little ways behind her house and Optimus looked down at her from his own sitting position. Ever since they had met Optimus had found himself drawn to protecting her. He had even befriended her defected Decepticon, Glitcher, in hopes of protecting her without having to compete with the Decepticon for attention. Clara wore a symbol around her neck that Optimus recognized from older Cybertonian days, but Clara wasn't quite sure what the symbol meant, so their talks about it had been brief, and now they simply spoke of other things._

"_The Decepticons are not done here." Optimus informed Clara softly._

_She nodded. "I figured it couldn't be over so soon. What could they possibly be waiting for though?"_

"_I do not know…but I fear that unless we stay here on Earth, the Decepticons will take over and you will not be prepared." Optimus replied._

_Clara smiled and nodded at her protector, pleased that he cared enough about her to share such details with her. She knew that it had something to do with her family's knowledge of his ancient ancestors, but he also seemed to value her as her own human being. He could see the love she had for Sam, but he would keep her secret—he could see the love Sam had for Mikaela. Clara leaned against him and heaved a sigh, Optimus feeling his organic robot heart softening at the touch._

"_Thank you for saving me from Baracade last week." Clara told him._

_Optimus nodded. "It was the least I could do after you and Sam helped with the All Spark."_

Clara felt the tears come as she heard the metal crunching against metal, and even though Sam told her not to, Clara had to look up. She watched as Optimus punched and bashed the two Decepticons and she found herself hopeful. Sam reached out to hold the hand of his childhood friend, completely unaware still of her deep love for him. As he had watched Mikaela and pined for her all through his school days, Clara had watched and pined for him. Clara loved him through all of his goofy, nerdy moments, but became his best friend and lived with it since all she wanted was his happiness.

Sam squeezed her hand when he saw her bite her lip and cringe as one of Megatron's giant hands caught Optimus off guard and knocked him towards the ground. He knew that she was nervous and she needed comfort, but she'd never ask it of him. Clara was just as stubborn as she was intelligent and compassionate, that was one of the reasons why Sam had befriended her in the first place. Clara let out a small cry of protest as the other large Decepticon grabbed at one of Optimus' arms and Sam wrapped his arms around her again, dropping her hand.

"I hate sitting here doing nothing." Clara said sadly.

She ducked when a boulder near them broke apart and Sam nodded and said, "So do I…but what help can we be, really?"

"None." Clara replied, the tears threatening to come out, but she was holding them back.

"_You seem distraught, Clara." Optimus told her._

_Clara shrugged that night as the stars shone above them on the hill. "It's nothing…Sam just went to take Mikaela out on another date."_

_Optimus nodded. "And you do not like Mikaela?"_

"_She likes her just fine—she just loves Sam." Glitcher told Optimus from his perch on the ground right next to Clara._

_Clara sent him a look. "Thanks, Glitchy—I appreciate the subtlety, thank you."_

"_No problem!" Glitcher replied, making Clara roll her eyes._

_Clara didn't keep any secrets from Optimus and Glitcher, but she hated having her feelings talked about out loud. Her family had always been really secretive and though she was able to help others with their problems, she liked to keep most of hers to herself. Besides, she knew how close Optimus and Sam were and though she knew her secret was safe with Optimus, she didn't want him to feel awkward. Optimus was loyal and compassionate and benevolent, and he really didn't need to be involved in any kind of human drama. So Clara waved it off and decided to change the subject before things got way too weird for all of them._

"_Big Dipper." Clara said, pointing up to the sky. "Easiest constellation to pick out."_

"_I'm always going to be here for you, Clara." Optimus told her, wanting her to know how much she truly meant to him. "You are the most important human to me…and to Glitcher."_

_Clara smiled. "You two are the most important things to me too."_

"This isn't going well." Sam stated over the sounds around them. "I hope Bumblebee got Mikaela and Leo to safety."

Clara looked Sam in the eye. "Of course he did—when has Bumblebee _ever_ let any of us down?"

Sam stroked Clara's hair like he would if she were his sister. "Unfortunately, accidents can happen."

Clara nodded and turned away from looking at him, afraid her eyes would betray her. She knew how he felt about her, and it hurt her because she loved him so much and always had. She stuck her head up to watch the fight a little more, Megatron slowly gaining the upper hand on Optimus. Clara found herself standing up, even though Sam was trying to make her stay put because that was what Optimus wanted—hers and Sam's safety. At the moment the secrets that Megatron wanted were in Sam's brain, and Clara was very important to Optimus and everyone knew about it.

"OPTIMUS LOOK OUT!" Clara screamed in utter emotional pain.

She watched in horror as Megatron punched his hand into Optimus from behind with sheer strength, ripping his chest apart. Clara let out a strangled cry as his body fell down to the ground in what felt like slow, agonizing motion, and looked into his robotic eyes with her own tear-filled ones. Optimus tried to smile at her to reassure her that no matter what he'd always be with her, but he knew he had no time to tell her all of the things that he wanted to tell her.

"Run." Optimus told Sam and Clara simply, the tears flowing as Clara watched the glow leave his eyes.

_Clara smiled at Optimus as they met up in the cemetery. They had had to change locations because Optimus thought that the hill was getting conspicuous. Clara had agreed, and since Glitcher wouldn't let her go anywhere by herself, he was tagging along, sitting on a tombstone as Clara asked Optimus what was going on. She knew that The Fallen existed, but she hadn't realized that he was still alive and waiting. So that was what the Decepticons wanted? The other energy source that was stowed away on Earth? And now the president was thinking about asking the Autobots to leave? If the Autobots left…Earth was doomed for sure._

"_I don't look you've looked so sad since I almost died." Clara told him, lightly punching the metal on his leg._

"_I am afraid that you and the rest of your species are in grave peril once again." Optimus replied to her._

_Clara nodded. "Bumblebee will bring Sam here and we'll stop this—I promise we will."_

_Clara was certain that Sam would help because she'd really never had so much faith in one person before as she did Sam Witwicky. Unfortunately, when Sam showed up he was less than thrilled to hear he should be an ambassador for the Autobots and Clara found her mouth dropping. After everything that Optimus had done for him, Sam was going to walk away? How could he do that to Optimus in his time of need when Optimus had just explained what he needed?_

"_This isn't my war." Sam told Optimus._

"_I'm afraid it soon will be." Optimus replied, looking grave._

_Sam started walking away. "You're Optimus Prime…you don't need me."_

"_You don't know how much I do…now more than ever." Optimus said quietly, and then he looked to Clara. "Do you think—"_

"—_I would do __**anything**__ for you, Optimus. Name it, and I'll do it." Clara replied quickly._

Clara felt Sam grab her hand and though it took a moment for her legs to catch up with her, all she could think about was Optimus. Everything they'd been through. Everything they'd talked about. Everything she'd just had to witness. One of her truest friends was lying in ruins behind her as she fled for her life hand in hand with the only boy she'd ever truly loved. One of her truest friends had just sacrificed his life for theirs…

Optimus Prime was dead.


	2. Sam

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**You'll notice that these first three chapters are named what they're named for a reason.**

**The first one was: Optimus.**

**This one is: Sam.**

**The next one will be: Glitcher.**

**Those are the three most important people in Clara's life, and once their flashbacks are done, the story will move forward with my own little adventure for them.**

**ENJOY!**

****

Clara knew that they had to keep running even though she couldn't bear to stand anymore and Sam recognized the pace change. He tugged on her hand, pulling her into a fond embrace, and applying a kiss to the top of her head. Clara knew that Sam wanted to break down too, but he just couldn't right now—they had to make contact with Bumblebee, Mikaela and Leo. Still, he knew that they could hide for just a moment and he could comfort her—he knew how much she and Optimus meant to each other. If he had just lost Bumblebee, he knew inside he'd be feeling just how she was feeling.

"Hey…Clarabear…I need you here with me, okay?" Sam asked her, trying to be commanding _and_ sensitive at the same time. "I know it hurts…but we need to get to safety before we can mourn properly, all right?"

Clara pulled away and looked him in the eye. He had beautiful deep eyes and that soft brown hair, but mostly she loved his nose. It wasn't that it was oddly shaped or abnormally big or anything…but for some reason she loved it—even if it was only a nose. But then again it _wasn't_ only a nose: it was Sam Witwicky's nose. Just the fact that it was on him made every feature he had that much more amazing to him…but she couldn't tell him that. She knew how he felt about Mikaela and if she made him happy then she was the one that was meant to be with him and Clara had to just accept his friendship—which she was more than willing to do.

"I'm trying, Sampson." Clara told him, returning the favor of the childhood nicknames. "I just need to take a moment to get a breath is all."

Sam nodded and kissed her lips swiftly in a brother/sister manner, taking her hand again and though for a second Clara had to remind herself of what kind of gesture it had been, the two took off running at the same pace. Sam no longer felt like he was dragging her along, and Clara felt like she was keeping up at a reasonable pace. She knew as well as Sam did that this was no time to fall apart…she had to think about happier times until they got to safety. So for now, she would have to settle with thinking about Sam.

"_Sampson! That was not how you count to 100!" An eight-year-old Clara Ferguson said from behind a tree._

"_Yes it was, Clarabear!" An eight-year-old Sam Witwicky replied. "1, 2, skip a few, 99, 100! Isn't that how you count?"_

_Clara rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to play with you if you're going to cheat!"_

_Sam laughed and started chasing her around his yard. Normally they played at her house because it was so big and Sam's mother was rather particular about her lawn, but Sam's father wanted Sam to interact with the pretty, young girl. Sam was too young to notice her deep hazel eyes and her silky dark brown hair, but eventually he would—his father was sure of it. Not many girls had actually been interested in his slightly awkward and nerdy little boy, but Clara Ferguson had. In fact she didn't just tolerate him—she actually came over to __**see**__ if Sam could play with her._

"_Fine…I will count the right way." Sam told her, rolling his eyes. "Girls sure are no fun."_

_Clara rolled her eyes. "You want me around and you know it—get to counting."_

_Sam smiled at her. "Be my best friend forever?"_

_Clara smiled brightly as well. "Forever."_

Clara had never _ever_ told Sam how she had felt and she knew she never would. Optimus knew how she felt and she knew how he felt, and it had hurt too badly when she had lost him. If Sam wasn't aware of her feelings then neither of them would hurt as much if the other one was claimed if Megatron won out in the end. She knew she would break if he was taken from her, but he wouldn't break nearly as much not knowing the truth. She looked at Sam with a puzzled look on his face as he stopped and looked around.

"Why are we stopping?" Clara asked him, but quickly knew.

"They're here." Sam replied.

He let go of her hand and hurried into the junk yard/ruin looking area, and Clara slowly made her way in behind him, knowing they'd lost Megatron and the other large Decepticon she had yet to catch the name of. She walked in to see Leo going into a deserted building as The Twins (Mudflap and Sideswipe) and Bumblebee watched over Mikaela, and looked around for Glitcher. Where could Glitcher possibly be? Besides Sam and Optimus, Glitcher was the most important thing to Clara, and she had to find him.

"Glitchy?" Clara asked. "Glitchy, where are you?"

Sam came over to her with a worried look on his face. "He's not here?"

Clara shook her head and felt the frustrated tears threatening to surface, Sam pulling her back into an embrace. They'd always been close and Mikaela had always felt threatened by Clara, but she knew how much Optimus and Clara had depended on each other too. Sam had informed her and Bumblebee when he'd come in that Optimus had lost his life saving him and Clara, and she knew that Clara needed Sam right now more than she did. Still mad at him for what had happened between him and Alice the Decepticon, Mikaela let it go, Clara remembering one of her fondest memories of Sam as she breathed in his scent and held him close too as he tried not to cry.

_Clara found herself blushing as she and Sam dipped their feet into her pool, dressed in only their swimwear. He splashed her a little bit when he caught her making a goofy face at him when he looked up and she didn't want him to see the fond smile she was fixing him with, and the fourteen-year-old girl giggled and splashed him back. In retaliation he pushed her into the pool, so when she came up for air, both of them laughing, she dragged him in by his foot. They spent the next few minutes splashing and dunking each other, and then Clara held her hands up in surrender._

"_Okay, okay! You win, all right?" She told him._

_Sam grinned proudly. "Damn straight, I do!"_

_Clara rolled her eyes. "Why do boys make everything some big competition?"_

_Sam shrugged. "It's in our blood. Chris Gretsky actually is making it a contest in our group who can kiss a girl first."_

_Clara tried not to look so hopeful that Sam might ask her to kiss him just so he could win the contest, so she laughed and then dunked her head under water for a few moments before resurfacing and pushing her wet hair back out of her face. When she opened her eyes she blushed a little because his face was so close to hers and he gave her a look. She knew that he was taking offense at the laughing and the dunking herself to avoid the conversation, but she didn't mind if he just stayed right there so she could look into his eyes. He was actually a little surprised at how beautiful her eyes looked up close too, sparkling in the sun like that, but he kept his composure._

"_You think I can't do it?" Sam asked her._

"_I think if you kiss me right now you can win." Clara replied._

_Sam swallowed, not expecting her to offer like that. "You're my best friend—I don't think that counts."_

"_I'm a girl, aren't I?" Clara asked him, treading the water at the same rhythm as Sam now, smiling when he nodded. "Then you have found yourself a loophole, Sampson."_

_Clara leaned in to kiss him, Sam surprised that his breath caught in his throat, pleased that her warm lips touched his. She was quite pleased herself and they both took a collective breath in as they sunk into the water, still kissing until they needed air, both of them pulling apart and then wiping the water out of their eyes and smiling at each other. Clara shrugged and told him it wasn't that bad and then condemned their relationship forever._

"_Not if that doesn't satisfy the boys, then you can try it on someone who isn't practically your sister." Clara said, and the splash war began again, both of them happy with their first kiss._

Clara knew that it had been her fault mostly that their relationship was always best friends status, but she didn't know that Sam felt anything for her at all. She slipped her arms up around his neck and pulled him even tighter to him, running her fingers through his hair as she felt a tear from one of his eyes hit her cheek. He was her best friend and he always would be, and she needed to be there for him like he had been there for her. There was nothing that either of them could have done even though they both felt responsible for Optimus' death, and Sam needed to know that she was still there for him no matter what happened between them…no matter what happened with the war.

"I'm not going anywhere." Clara whispered to him as he tried desperately to contain himself and he was succeeding except for the occasional tear.

He nodded into her, his hands running along her back. "You're always going to have me, Clara—no matter what."

Clara bit her lip and pulled away from him. "Speaking from one best friend to another…you have a girlfriend and an Autobot to talk to, and I have Glitchy to find."

Sam nodded at her but went to go and talk to Leo who was still in the building, Clara wiping her tears away. She started calling out Glitcher's name again but came up with nothing, checking to make sure that no one was looking, and sneaking out of their little camp of safety. It was broad daylight and if Glitcher wasn't answering than he was either nowhere around, or she was going to find his lifeless robotic body. She really didn't think she could handle another death, but she couldn't give up looking for Glitcher—he was part of her messed up family.

Hearing a noise, Clara found herself staying very still, whisper calling out Glitcher's name after a few moments when she was certain she'd been imagining the sound. She started to retrace hers and Sam's steps, and then she stood very still and closed her eyes and sighed loudly—where was Glitcher? When she opened her eyes and turned around she almost screamed, but Sam's hand shot out and covered her mouth. She hit his arm hard because he'd terrified her, and he gave her a look.

"What the Hell was that for?" He whisper yelled.

"You scared the Hell out of me! How'd you even know where I was?" She asked.

He smiled a little. "I knew you'd be looking for Glitcher—he was looking for you and just wandered into our little camp as it were."

Clara's eyes lit up. "Really? Glitcher's there? Sampson?"

"Yeah, Clarabear?" Sam replied as they started heading back to the other.

"Thank you…for never letting me down." She told him.

"_That shirt looks awful on you—why do you even have it?" A presently eighteen-year-old Clara asked a presently eighteen-year-old Sam with a laugh._

_Sam sighed and took it off, not catching Clara checking out his torso. Every time he got ready for a date with Mikaela, Clara was over at his house. Sam thought that it was ridiculous when his mother told him that Clara was crushing him—she was like his sister. She'd pointed it out time and time again, and they'd both come to accept it since he pointed it out just as often to her. Clara scrunched up her nose as Sam put on another shirt and shook her head, mainly only because she wanted to see his torso again—the shirt had actually looked really good on him._

"_Is it just me, or are you just attempting to sex me with your eyeballs?" Sam asked her._

_Clara rolled her eyes. "In your dreams, Sampson. Try the white tee and put your jacket over it."_

_Sam chuckled. "I think someone wants my body."_

_Clara rolled her eyes again at his sing-song voice and smiled at herself—she'd gotten really, really good at not showing her blush to him over the years. Internally this conversation was making her blush, but outside she was just his best friend who might as well be his twin. In fact when they were going on sixteen that was exactly what they referred to each other as. They were each other's twin they never had, and Clara was taking what she could get because Sam was happy with Mikaela and Clara wanted Sam happy. She stood up and smoothed down his jacket, fixing the collar and nodding approvingly._

"_Go woo her." Clara said, accepting the sister/brother peck the two had gotten accustomed to giving each other since fifteen. "And try to win her something at this carnival."_

"_You know why aren't you tagging along? You love carnivals." Sam told her, turning back to her once he'd made it to the doorway._

_Clara rolled her eyes. "Go on your date, Sampson—I'm not going to be your third wheel."_

"_Just remember Clarabear: you're one Hell of a third wheel." Sam told her with a wink, and left her smiling there in his room._

Clara extended her arms to Glitcher when she saw that he was safe and sound, looking over his scratches when she could get a closer look. She kissed his robotic head and then turned to look at Leo as he told them he could find us the person who could translate the symbols that Sam was seeing in his head. It was time for another mission…

Optimus' death could _not_ be in vain.


	3. Glitcher

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I am so silly, but I love it!**

**This is all about the adorable and witty defected Decepticon…GLITCHER!**

**I had a little TOO much fun coming up with Glitcher's character.**

**I hope you like him as much as I do!**

****

"So let me get this straight…we're accepting advice from Agent Simmons?" Glitcher asked Clara.

Clara shrugged. "We don't have a choice seeing as how I can't go back home for my symbol book right now and Dad prolly has it on him. You know I'm not fluent in ancient Cybertron yet."

Glitcher shook his head. "I think accepting his help is like a fly asking a spider to free it from its web."

Clara laughed and Glitcher transformed into a laptop as they heard people coming back out to the car. When she saw Sam and Mikaela, Clara nodded to them and then got out and watched as Mikaela got a large metal box out of the trunk. Clara grabbed the transformed Glitcher and they headed back into the butcher shop—Clara had opted not to go in for that very reason—and Sam showed Clara the way down into the secret part from the freezer. Clara had to hold her breath at the smell of the frozen meat, and then when she got down she watched as Glitcher transformed back into himself and Mikaela let the other Decepticon out of the metal box.

"That's Wheelie." Glitcher told Clara in a soft voice.

Clara nodded. "So you know him?"

Glitcher nodded. "So do you—he left me behind."

_Clara hit one of the tiny Decepticons with the fire poker and felt a little bad about it. Even though the two had invaded her home and tried to get into her father's safe, they were still living…and well maybe not breathing, but living. She had called Sam to see if he could come and help her, but he was a little busy with his car—that was really apparently an Autobot. Clara had yet to go and see it for herself because she'd only been __**told**__ about Autobots by her father—never actually seen one with her own eyes before. In fact before now, Clara had thought the stories were only bedtime stories her Dad had fashioned for her overly imaginative mind. Little did she know that she was __**actually**__ a decendent of the first people to come in contact with the Autobots for real._

"_Tell me what you want!" Clara said. "What is in my Dad's safe that is so important to you?"_

"_Are you going to shoot her with something or what, Glitcher?" Wheelie asked his colleague._

_Glitcher nodded but noticed her on the phone and immediately set to trying to make it glitch. Glitcher was good at disabling all sorts of electronics and then putting them back together again in perfect running order. Clara frowned and dropped the phone, pointing the fire poker at Glitcher. If she had to she would hit him again, and she would have had Wheelie not come up from behind and stuck her in the neck with something. She let out a cry and hit him with the poker, Wheelie grabbing onto Glitcher instead, who got his foot caught in the garbage disposal._

"_Wheelie! Help me out!" He said._

_Wheelie saw Clara with the poker and shook his head, taking off out of the window. When her father came downstairs from getting untied and went to turn on the garbage disposal, Clara shook her head and went to pull Glitcher out. Glitcher didn't know why she'd gone to his rescue and she didn't know either, but something about his plea had made her realize he was just following orders. Her saving him even though he probably could have disabled the disposal on his own, had made him realize that humans weren't as bad as Megatron was making them out to be, and so he defected right then and there._

"_It sounds so cliché Dad but…can I keep him?" Clara asked, honestly believing what it was he had to say._

_Her father sighed. "Keep a close eye on him or else."_

"You honestly expect us to believe that the only way to translate this is to take it to some ancient bot?" Glitcher asked out loud. "I am _not_ putting Clara in harm's way."

"For all you know we could get lucky and find us an Autobot." Leo said. "That _is_ what the good guys are called, right?"

Clara smiled. "Maybe we _will_ get lucky and meet up with an Autobot…but what if it _is_ a Decepticon? One that isn't as nice as Glitcher?"

Sam looked at Clara with a small laugh, knowing _exactly_ how she felt about her Glitcher. Mikaela just nodded at the looks between them, and then they got ready to head to the museum to find Jetfire—one of the very first bots to ever come to Earth—one of the ancients. Clara noticed Mikaela's looks, so she hung back with Leo and Agent Simmons, wishing that she could talk with Sam, but that wasn't an option right then. She smiled at Leo who seemed a little bit calmer even though he was still freaking out about the aliens he'd always thought existed actually existing.

"So Glitcher…you defected from the Decepticons? How do we know that we can even trust you?" Leo asked him.

"Junior's got a point: how do we know he won't turn on us for the other side?" Agent Simmons asked.

Clara held Glitcher close her. "Because _I_ trust him more than anyone or anything. If he says he's on our side then he's on our side."

"Wow do you have to get all mushy about me?" Glitcher asked her, even though he knew he loved her too and would never let anything bad happen to her.

Clara shrugged. "Because you're my bot."

"_Glitcher?" Clara asked out loud, rummaging through the stuff in her room. "Glitcher? Come on! I said I was sorry! Glitchy? Please, Glitchy?"_

_Glitcher transformed from the lamp on her desk and looked at her. He was small and he stood on two feet, and she knew she shouldn't have gotten mad at him. Glitcher had never once swayed from his original promise: to protect her no matter what. Their friendship was struck up rather quickly, and Clara adored her defected Decepticon more than anything or anyone except for Sam Witwicky. How could she have said such a hurtful thing to him? He was one of her truest friends and deserved her respect._

"_I'm sorry, Glitchy." Clara told him, reaching out to gather him up in her arms._

"_You said I was just a robot." Glitcher reminded her._

_Clara held him to her and he softened a little bit. "I didn't mean it, I was just frustrated. Forgive me?"_

_Glitcher knew that he couldn't very well stay mad at Clara for very long—she always stood up for him. She was always there for him, always looking for him first thing when something went wrong—she treated him like her adored puppy or her child she had to keep her eyes on. Glitcher did not mind the looking after since he'd been abandoned by his own team mate, and he adored his human just as much as she adored him. They had both come together in a time of need, and when one needed the other, the other would be there unless they honestly could not be._

_Glitcher clicked a little. "Fine…I forgive you."_

_Clara smiled. "Good, because I love you."_

"_Oh God, not the mushy stuff!" Glitcher protested, trying to get out of her arms without hurting her._

"_Oh come on! Say it back!" She teased, letting him back onto the desk._

_Glitcher looked at her. "You're the only human I have ever cared about."_

_Clara laughed and shrugged. "Close enough."_

Clara was touched when Sam jumped to her side as well as Glitcher when Jetfire stopped being transformed into the jet. They were afraid because Jetfire was a Decepticon, but when they realized that he had defected as Glitcher had and he transported them all to Egypt to figure out how to use the symbols, everyone turned to Clara—Sam first. He had become quite aware that Clara and her family knew more than they should, and Jetfire knew it the second that he had seen her necklace. Clara took a deep breath and they tried to put it all together as Jetfire sent them off into the desert to find the tomb of the Primes.

"What we need to figure out is what Jetfire meant by 'the kings'." Clara said. "Even though I don't know _entirely_ what these symbols mean, they are the key to the source and in order to find the source, we have to figure out the riddle."

"Riddle?" Mikaela asked.

Clara nodded. "It's a riddle. 'The kings' stands for something, but I'm not sure what yet. What I _am_ sure of is that whatever this energy is…it can bring Optimus back. So we need to radio Captain Lennox to get his body shipped to Dagger's Point—the gulf meeting the city of Jordan. Before they get here, I will have figured out what 'The kings' is."

They all nodded at her as she headed off in front of them, Glitcher right behind her, and as they found a place to camp and the sun set, Clara brought her knees up to her chest and she tried not to cry. She missed Optimus, and the sight of Mikaela and Sam up high overlooking everyone and cuddling together was making her sad. Clara knew she wanted Sam to be happy, but the show of affection they had for each other was making her want to cry even more. She wanted his arms to be around her right now as they mourned, but she knew that that wasn't going to happen. Glitcher ran his robotic head against her though and she rested her hand on his head, smiling down at him sadly.

"Just focus." Glitcher told her. "What about 'the kings'?"

Clara nodded and plastered a smile on her face. "Right…'the kings'. For Optimus."

Glithcer nodded too. "For Optimus."

"Clara!" Sam called down to her, Mikaela looking defeated.

Clara got up and went to him as he hurried down the structure he was on and he smiled at her, resting his hands on her shoulders. He had a huge grin on her face so Clara couldn't help but grin back at him, letting him take her by the hand and dragging her out to where the sky was more open. Everyone followed them as Sam pointed out to the stars and Clara bounced up and down a bit which made Sam laugh at his dearest companion happily. They explained together about how Orion's Belt was what the riddle meant—the stars represented three kings. It pointed the way to the tomb, but when Sam touched the Matrix, it became dust and made Sam and Clara both feel like they were back at square one.

"The dust…it has to still save Optimus…it just has to." Clara begged.

Sam nodded and began to brush the dust into his sock. "I agree."

"How do you know that it will bring him back?" Mikaela asked.

"Because I believe in it." Sam told her.

_Clara sighed loudly as Glitcher watched her and tried hard to be supportive. For some reason he didn't know why he was still following Optimus, but he knew that Clara was his human, and he would follow her anywhere. Clara smiled at Glitcher and then she stood up and started to pace her room as Glitcher watched her from the bed. She didn't know exactly how to explain it to him, but she knew she had to make him understand—understand that they had to help again._

"_Optimus has never ever given me a reason not to trust him. If he says that a war is coming, then a war is coming." Clara said plainly. "Sam is in denial because he wants to go to college and make a long distance relationship work."_

"_It's your right to be happy too, you know? Is fighting Optimus' war going to make you happy?" Glitcher asked her._

_Clara smiled sadly and shrugged. "If Optimus thinks that the war is coming to us and I can help stop that…then it's my war too."_

_Glitcher nodded and hopped up onto her lap and let her ramble off about how she knew that Sam would come around. He would always be around for her…always…no matter what she chose to do. Glitcher couldn't get over how mad about Sam she was either—he would never see her the way that Clara wanted him to, so Glitcher wondered why she kept up the friendship without telling Sam how she felt. Still, there was a lot about humans that Glitcher didn't understand and all he __**did**__ know was that Clara was his human and he would do what she said no matter what._

"_I will help you." Glitcher told her._

_Clara smiled. "Thank you, Glitchy. Now I just need to get General Morshower on the phone and figure out how to help Optimus since the president's lacky is ruining it all and trying to get the Autobots deported back out into space."_

_Glitcher nodded. "I'd help but…I'm going to go bother your sister."_

_Clara laughed. "Try not to glitch her MP3 Player again—she'll kill you."_

The war was getting brutal when Megatron realized where they were. He was making it damned near impossible for them to get to Optimus' body when it landed in Jordan, and Clara was sick of it—especially when Megatron used Sam's parents as bait. Sam found himself having to protect both Mikaela _and_ Clara, and in one final explosion, close to Optimus' body to drop the Matrix dust over him before Megatron could get the dust to power the machine to destroy the sun, Sam was hit and he was hit hard. Mikaela and Clara desperately fought to get to him, the dust started to blow out of his hands as he laid there…no heartbeat…

Sam Witwicky wasn't breathing and Optimus' body lay not three feet away.


	4. Realizations

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I am having so much fun, you have NO idea!**

**So this chapter is in the time I want it to be in and will still have a couple flashbacks.**

**This chapter is a LOT of Sam and Clara.**

**You'll get to see how they interact in almost every way.**

**=D**

****

"_Wake up, Sampson." Clara told him as strongly as she could, tears running down her face. _

_Clara didn't know what she would do if Sam actually died on her. Captain Lennox was holding onto Mikaela as she cried, Sam not responding to the defribulators. When it looked like he was gone, Mikaela grabbed him before Clara did and held him to her, Clara kissing his limp hand that had been holding the Matrix. Mikaela told Sam that she loved him and Clara wished that she could say it too…so she did. He was dead and he wouldn't be able to hear it anyway. What she wasn't expecting the second after she said it was for Mikaela to send her a look and Sam to suddenly open his eyes and start gasping for air._

_Sam squeezed Clara's hand and looked Mikaela in the eye and told her he loved her before sitting up and all of them watching the Matrix reform itself. Sam grabbed it and went to put it in Optimus' chest, Clara beaming as Optimus woke up. Unfortunately The Fallen grabbed it and got it to the sun destroying machine and Jetfire sacrificed his parts to Optimus so Optimus could defeat The Fallen and save Earth, Megatron running away. It was far from over but for now…everyone Clara loved was alive…everyone._

Clara found herself jolting awake a little, turning over as she heard a light chuckle she recognized. She smiled at Sam and propped herself up on her elbows in her bed under the covers, and shook her head as she laughed a little. She knew he looked a little upset but mainly she was wondering why he was there and what exactly was going on. It had been a good six months since the fight with the Fallen, and Clara had been mostly spending her time with her mother, father, sister and Glitcher.

"Your mother let me in." Sam told her, motioning out her bedroom door.

Clara nodded. "She would have. So…what brings you here, Sampson?"

"Mikaela broke up with me." Sam replied. "For real this time."

"What? But she's in love with you and you're in love her…right?" Clara asked him.

Sam shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it, Clarabear…room in there for me too like old times?"

Clara nodded and lifted up the covers, blushing in the darkness as Sam slid into the bed with her and she snuggled up against him. He wrapped his arms around her and held him to her, realizing that his heart quickened when her head automatically laid on his chest over his heart. He'd never really realized before just how perfectly her body fit into his—because since the shutdown after their first kiss…Sam had never looked at her romantically since she never showed any interest in him that wasn't platonic. Even when they'd gone to dances together when she didn't have a date—which she did a lot of the time—they'd only dance one slow dance and that was only because their group of friends had told them it was required, so they complied…and it hadn't been bad for either of them—it had been enjoyed.

Still, Sam Witwicky had never thought that Clara Ferguson had _ever_ been interested in her. He couldn't understand where his parents got their ridiculous notions from, because he and Clara though completely inseparable, had always helped the other get dates. If they had been so into each other, then neither of them would have worked so hard to get the other one dates to the movie that Chris had forced everyone to go to. If they were so into each other then one of them would have spoken up when the other got a significant other—when Clara started dating Davis, and when he had started dating Mikaela. Sam couldn't get over how perfect her body fit his though, and come to think of it…her body had _always_ fit right into his…even in the worst of times.

_Sam could hear Clara crying for a few feet away, and hurried to her side inside her parents' garage. She had her knees pulled tightly to her chest and her eyes were wet and a little red from the crying that she had obviously been doing. Sam hurried over to her side and pulled her close to him, stroking her hair as she instinctively rested her head on his chest. She fit right into the crook of his arm, and it was easy and natural to simply stroke her hair and hold her._

"_Clarabear?" Sam asked her in a worried voice. "Clarabear, what happened?"_

"_I just found him, Sampson…just lying there in his own fluids." She sobbed, grabbing a hold of his shirt to steady herself and to reassure herself that he was really there with her. "He had to die alone."_

_Sam kissed the top of her head. "Hunter?"_

_Clara nodded. "What kind of family lets their German Sheppard die alone?"_

_Sam stroked her hair and rocked her ever so slightly, and she laughed a little and pulled away. Best friend or no, the fact that he was consoling a girl who seemed to no longer want his touch made him shift uncomfortably for a moment before he reached out naturally to wipe her tears away as she smiled at him sadly. Clara just didn't want Sam to have to see her at__** every**__ weak moment, and just the fact that he was now wiping her tears away made her love him even more. She tucked her hair behind her ears and sniffled a little, her hand up covering her face._

"_God, you can probably see snot." She said sheepishly._

_Sam smiled. "You look beautiful, Clarabear—lets go get some Kleenex and play Halo. Sound like a plan?"_

_Clara beamed. "Sounds perfect."_

Clara knew that it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but she ran her fingers along his shirt lazily and ran her toes along his foot. Sam didn't know why the sensations were making him swallow, but he equated it all to his feeling lonely that Mikaela had finally broken up with him. He didn't even really want to talk to Clara about it, and yet he knew that there was no one else to talk to about it. Clara was his best friend and all she wanted to do was help—which meant that she had to know what was going on. She deserved that much didn't she?

"I think Mikaela's an idiot to break up with you." Clara told him with a shrug, looking up at him. "She has no idea what she let go—that's obvious because she let you go."

Sam blushed a little but she couldn't tell in the moonlight. "Well it wasn't _entirely_ her decision, Clarabear."

"Oh, no? It wasn't _your_ fault." Clara said.

"She gave me an ultimatum." Sam admitted, and smiled when Clara hugged him.

Clara wanted to know what the ultimatum was but she didn't want to be too pushy. She knew that Sam was always trying to keep Mikaela and Clara both in his life without having to make them pick sides, and without picking sides himself. Clara admired that about him but always knew that she and Mikaela would pick Sam's side over anyone else's—whether they actually got along with each other or not. Clara and Mikaela didn't hate each other in the slightest they were just weary of each other—they both knew just how much the other meant to Sam.

Clara traced a heart on Sam's chest absent-mindedly. "Then she's a bitch."

"_What did you just say?" Sam asked Clara with a laugh._

_Clara shrugged. "I said 'bitch'."_

_Sam laughed loudly and Clara rolled her eyes and plopped herself down on the couch, Sam telling her he was sorry he had laughed and trying to wrap his arms around her. She wanted to respond but she wasn't for the sake of her pride, staring at the movie that they were watching. It had been the first time that Sam had actually heard Clara swear, and it wouldn't be the last time either. Clara had been feeling like the movie was outlining hers, Sam's and Mikaela's lives, and the one that reminded her of Mikaela had done something rude and Clara had reacted out loud without speaking._

"_You're the one who wanted to watch this chick flick and I only caved because you looked like you were going to cry." Sam reminded her._

_Clara smiled. "You fall for that __**all**__ the time!"_

_Sam nodded. "I know…wow…she __**is**__ kind of a bitch."_

"_See?!" Clara exclaimed, and then flung herself into Sam's arms and let him hold her as they watched the movie._

_Even if they told people that they were liked siblings, no one really thought that they acted like siblings. If they had actually been related then it would be one thing, but Sam and Clara looked like a madly in love couple when they were out in public seeing sports games or at the mall or the movies. They flirted constantly even though they refused to say it was flirting, and they were more comfortable with each other than they'd ever been with anyone else. Still, they'd never tried to date each other, and they were pretty sure that they never would._

"_God, I hate this movie!" Clara exclaimed._

_Sam gave her their usual brother/sister peck only on her cheek. "How about Halo?"_

"She's not a bitch…I pushed her into it." Sam said with a shrug. "Wanna play Halo?"

Clara laughed. "If you wanna play Halo it must be serious."

Sam shrugged and then he watched as Clara sat up a little, resting herself on her arms on her stomach while still resting her hand on his chest. She looked him in the eye and he realized that the moonlight hitting her was a beautiful sight he'd never taken the time to take in. She laughed a little as she shook her head, obviously trying to figure out how to word what she was going to say next and Sam just watched her. How could he have possibly _ever_ overlooked her? She was the one person in the whole world he knew that he could one hundred percent count on.

"What was the ultimatum, Sampson? I'm having a hard time understanding how this was all _your_ fault." Clara told him. "I mean _she_ let _you_ go."

Sam took a deep breath. "She made me choose between her and you…and I'm certainly not going to kick my best friend since I was three to the curb for a girl who obviously doesn't love me enough to make you part of her life when you're the biggest part of mine."

Clara really didn't know what to say, but she applied their brother/sister peck to his lips and then pulled away and smiled. She started to explain how he should have just held onto Mikaela and then moderated the time he spent with her. Sam let the want to kiss her fade as he realized that she really wanted him to be with Mikaela—she really wanted him to be happy. But what about what Sam wanted? Mikaela giving him the ultimatum had one hundred percent convinced him that she would _never_ be all right with the place that Clara had in his life and in his heart. And then he saw it…the spider.

_Sam shook his head vigorously as Clara nodded just as vigorously, both of them trying to win this 'argument' of theirs. Clara wanted a pet other than Hunter, and Sam desperately wanted her to give up on the notion of a tarantula. Sam was for some reason very afraid of spiders, and he wasn't quite sure that he could stand coming over anymore if she got one. Clara didn't know why he was so against it, but she wanted him to be on the same page as her._

"_Wouldn't it be cool though?" Clara asked him._

"_No!" Sam exclaimed and then composed himself quickly. "What about a cat? Or a turtle?"_

_Clara sighed. "I guess turtles are cute…but you can't really okay with them…and Hunter is too old to take to a cat."_

"_Then what about a gecko or a gerbil or something?" Sam asked her._

_Clara nodded a little and then sighed and decided to ask the man in the pet shop about his geckos. Her parents had given her the 'okay' to get what she wanted as long as she'd take care of it—her little sister, Jenna, had already gotten herself a bunny. Sam was so happy that they'd gotten away from the arachnids, and pointed at a gecko and Clara made a face—she didn't want a common green one. Sam sighed and laughed a little as she started to ramble about how much she wanted her gecko to be special and he told her that maybe she should think more about what she wanted before she bought another pet—completely unaware that in exactly eight months after all of this thinking over, Clara would get Glitcher._

"What in the world?" Clara asked as Sam let out a girlish scream and jumped up.

Clara watched as he planted himself up against the wall as he stood on her bed and let out another girly scream. Clara laughed as she saw the spider in the web in the corner of her window that he was staring at and she looked at him, her eyebrow raised.

"You're afraid of spiders? Really?" Clara asked him.

"Don't make fun! They can bite you and kill you!" Sam exclaimed.

Clara rolled her eyes and went over to him, placing her hands on his shoulders and looking him in the eye. She was amused and that made him frown, but when she ran her tongue over her lips to wet them before talking to him he found himself confronted with those crush feelings again. He'd never truly noticed her before and he really couldn't understand why he hadn't. She was beautiful, confident, compassionate, loving—she never let him down and she was always there for him.

"We've been through wars between Autobots and Decepticons, Sampson—spiders are nothing compared to that." She told him with a laugh. "And if it tries to hurt you, Clarabear will take it out for you."

The notion made Sam smile and he kissed her. Clara was completely confused when it wasn't the normal brother/sister peck, but instead an actual kiss. She let him wrap his arms around her and bring her close to his body, surprised that she fit into his arms perfectly. Clara didn't have to think too hard to respond to the kiss, but as wonderful as it felt to have his tongue tease the corners of her mouth, she put her hands on his chest and pushed him off, shaking her head.

"Sampson…I won't be your rebound." She told him softly.

Just like that Sam snapped back into reality and got off her bed and headed for the door after a pause between them. Their eyes searched the others' for answers and then Glitcher came in to see what the screaming had been about. Sam took that moment to actually go out the door, Clara waving it off and telling Glitcher that it was nothing even though she knew it had just meant everything…

Sam Witwicky had just kissed her and she'd rejected him.


	5. Necklaces

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!**

******

**On another note, Clara's and Sam's kiss and everything jump-started some feelings, lol.**

**However I warn you now that their love story has farther to go, and Sam has to **_**convince**_** Clara that he really loves her…and she has to accept that she's not at all **_**just**_** his rebound.**

**So expect flirting, but more best friend behavior from both of them for the next few chapters.**

**Sexual tension is in the works now.**

**(I also changed Clara's mentioned sister's name upon request from my sister who is my most trusted and loved critic, so if you notice, great—if not, oh well, now you know.)**

**ENJOY!**

****

Clara wished to God she'd just kissed Sam Witwicky as long as she could have and let that be that. Now all she could think about was how much she regretted not exploring that moment further. She looked up at Jenna as the two ate breakfast while their mother tended to the garden—their father already at work. Glitcher was sitting calmly on the table, him and Jenna having a staring contest as she started to turn on her MP3 player. Things had been really tense around the Ferguson household, and Clara wished she knew why exactly.

Emma, Jenna's twin, hadn't been around in a while because she was working with N.E.S.T. and hadn't phoned in a few weeks. Emma knew what she wanted to do early on and got her GED, Jenna wanting to finish up her Senior Year this year, and Clara was going to college with Sam…but living off campus now so she didn't have to be near him. Her father was trying to get her out of the house and she was starting to cave, but her mother was on her side—only because she wanted her children to stay around and Emma hadn't been calling. Clara took a deep breath and then she stood up and pulled out her cell phone—she freaking missed Sam.

"Don't call Sam." Glitcher told her, reaching towards her phone to try and make it glitch, Clara pulling it out of her reach. "Don't fall prey to his wiles."

Clara rolled her eyes. "He's my best friend, Glitchy—I need to hang out with him today when I know that both of us have nothing to do."

"And the kiss? You're just going to pretend it didn't happen?" Glitcher asked her.

"Well of course they are! It's like you don't know them." Jenna told Glitcher with a laugh as she stroked her necklace.

Jenna, Emma and Clara were all bestowed with necklaces when they were very, very little—Clara first of course. When she turned five she got hers, then when Jenna and Emma turned five two years later, they got theirs. Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson had always planned on having three kids, and their daughters were all very similar, and yet they all had one little extra trait. Emma was _amazing_ with electronics—like _beyond_ amazing, just as Jenna as abnormally strong and skilled in martial arts, and Clara was super sensitive to emotions. Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson hadn't told their children _why_ they were like that, but Clara had a feeling that an important talk was coming.

"Clara! Don't!" Glitcher said again, but Clara had already pressed '1', which was her speed dial for Sam.

Sam looked at his phone as it rang and swallowed a little—he still thought about the kiss. He hadn't regretted it at all in fact…he'd really thoroughly enjoyed it. The moment his lips had touched Clara's he had felt the peace and the pleasure that he had felt the first and last time the two had truly kissed. The brother/sister peck had always just symbolized how close the two were—it had never been romantic. In fact as he thought about it a little more, Sam realized that he hadn't thought about anyone but Clara since the kiss in her room…so he answered his phone after three rings.

"Hey, Clarabear!" Sam told her, trying to sound happy and not a little off guard.

Clara smiled at the sound of his voice. "Will you please hang out with me, Sampson? I miss you."

Sam smiled genuinely. "I really miss you too, Clarabear. When do you want me to head over?"

Clara laughed a little. "Glitcher and Jenna are having one of those days. Mind if I come to you?"

"Not at all, Clarabear. See you soon?" He asked.

"See you soon." Clara told him, hanging up and realizing she had to get dressed to go over to Sam's house…she had to look presentable.

_Mr. Ferguson smiled at his three daughters and Mrs. Ferguson rung her hands a little. The two had been trying to figure out how to tell their daughters about the necklaces around their necks, and they decided to wait until it was necessary. There was still so much to learn about the past, and they weren't sure how to ease the girls into their destinies. Besides…a seven-year-old Clara was currently wrestling a seven-year-old Sam and losing, and it was cute. Mrs. Ferguson was also quite pleased with five-year-old Emma building her popsicle stick mansion, and five-year-old Jenna practicing fighting forms._

"_You're heart isn't into this, Clarabear!" Sam exclaimed._

_Clara rolled her eyes. "You're a boy! You're stronger than me naturally!"_

"_What about all that stuff about how girls can do what boys can do?" Sam teased._

"_Please! Just because __**I**__ can't beat you doesn't mean Jenna couldn't kick you sorry bottom!" Clara retorted._

_Sam laughed and though Clara blushed a little at how much she loved it, she kept her composure and managed to push Sam off of her as Jenna said she could. Sam said he wasn't going to fight a girl and so Jenna stomped on his foot and they ran around a bit as Clara laughed, Emma upset about everyone ruining her concentration. Then the minute Sam fell into her popsicle stick house, Emma started fuming and chasing them too, Mr. Ferguson in stitches by the end of it._

"_Get him Jenna!" Emma cried out._

_Clara sat down on the ground laughing. "You're in for it now, Sampson!"_

_Sam shot her a look. "Will you call your sister army off, please?!"_

Clara smiled at Mr. Witwicky when he opened the door after she rung the doorbell. Mr. Witwicky loved Clara more than Mrs. Witwicky did, but they were both very fond of her. Mr. Witwicky thought that Sam was blind for not seeing Clara for the beautiful and intelligent girl that she was, and he quickly ushered her in and gave her a quick hug—as Sam was considered part of the Ferguson family, Clara was considered part of the Witwicky family. The two families were incredibly close, and they had gotten even closer when the Autobots had showed and the two families had gotten involved.

"Hey!" Clara told him merrily as she pulled away from Mr. Witwicky.

He smiled at her. "It's been a little while—you finding better things to do than hang out with Sam?"

Sam sighed from the top of the stairs. "Dad can you just let her be, please?"

Mr. Witwicky sighed. "Does it occur to you that maybe since you went off to college and only come home for short breaks that maybe your mother and I miss Clara too?"

"Well I miss you guys too." Clara assured him and then laughed a little when Sam told his Dad to leave the room and Mr. Witwicky reluctantly did so.

Clara smiled up at Sam happily and gave a little wave, Sam hurrying down the stairs and pulling Clara into a hug. Clara found herself practically melting into him, wrapping her arms around him and breathing in the scent of him as he smelled her hair. She didn't want him to let her go and he didn't want to let her go, but she just didn't want to be her rebound and Sam knew that. He'd spent the last couple days thinking things over and though he'd come to the realization that he'd always liked Clara more than Mikaela—and trusted her and depended on her more—he knew he had to make Clara understand that by using more than just his words…and lips.

"How about a movie?" Clara asked him, still holding onto him and not noticing Mr. and Mrs. Witwicky looking at the hugging teenagers with grins on their faces. "Like old times?"

Sam pulled away from her slowly Mr. and Mrs. Witwicky quickly going back into the kitchen where they couldn't be seen, and he nodded. He took Clara by the hand and Clara looked at their hands as their fingers interlaced—she really, _really_ loved that feeling. She followed him into the living room and he put a DVD into the DVD player, both of them sitting on the couch next to each other, a little awkward at first. However when the movie began, Clara relaxed and laid her head in Sam's lap like old times, Sam stroking her hair and trying really hard not to think about the fact that Clara's head was resting right near his crotch.

"Remember the first movie that we watched together?" Clara asked Sam with a smile on her face, loving the feeling of his fingers running through her hair.

Sam smiled too and nodded, looking Clara in the eye as she sat up. "Yeah…yeah I do."

"_How can you not like this movie?!" Clara asked Sam._

_Sam shrugged. "It's a girly movie."_

_A six-year-old Clara rolled her eyes and popped in __**The Little Mermaid**__ and then pointed to the floor. "Sit down and watch this."_

_Sam sighed. "Fine."_

_Sam knew that he had nothing better to do than to sit and watch a movie with his best friend, and so the two laid on their stomachs with their feet up behind them and watched the movie. Sam admitted that he thought that Ariel was attractive, and Clara thought that Eric was cute, and the two laughed a little and talked during the movie. Clara was glad that Sam was liking it, and by the end the two were singing some of the songs together, and Sam smiled at Clara._

"_See? You can't knock something you haven't tried." She told him._

"_Where'd you pick __**that **__saying up?" Sam asked her._

_Clara shrugged a little. "I heard my mother say it to my father."_

"_Your parents are weird." Sam told Clara while making a face._

_Clara laughed at him and Sam realized he really liked to make her laugh, and he vowed to keep her laughing forever right then and there. He had no idea that he was going to fall in love with her…but she knew that she was going to fall in love him._

Clara was sitting sideways on the couch with her legs over Sam's lap, her head on his shoulder as they watched the movie, Sam's arms around her. Clara found herself nuzzling the crook of his neck with her forehead a little, smiling a little as he swallowed. Clara pulled her head away a little and looked at him, Sam's eyes meeting hers. She didn't mean to glance at his lips but she did, and Sam smiled a little bit at her. He wanted to kiss her too, but he wasn't sure that he _should_ kiss her whether he wanted to or not.

"There's a family meeting tonight." Clara told Sam.

Sam nodded, looking at her lips as well. "First family meeting without Emma?"

Clara nodded sadly, still looking at Sam's lips. "Yeah. Mom is taking it a lot harder than Dad is. If Emma was still calling then it would be a lot better."

"Do you know what the meeting's about?" Sam asked her.

They were both leaning in a little more, both very aware of what they wanted, but not really paying attention to how much the other one wanted the same thing. Then when they could feel the other's breath on their face, they looked each other in the eye and recognized the want, Clara pulling away. That kiss between them had just changed the entire dynamic of their relationship and Clara wasn't ready for it. She had been so ready to help Sam get Mikaela back when he came to her sad that he had been dumped, and now Sam wanted her all of a sudden? He had had _so_ many chances before now to show an interest in her…why now?

"I should get home." Clara told him lamely, standing up and composing herself.

Sam nodded and followed her to the front door. "Yeah…sure you can't finish the movie with me?"

Clara nodded and smiled at him. "Another time, I promise. Tomorrow, maybe?"

Sam smiled. "Perfect."

Clara nodded again and hurried out the front door, Sam watching her go and wishing he hadn't been such a slow idiot—he should have just kissed her again since she'd wanted it just as bad as he had…why was she so stubborn about it? And why hadn't he noticed these hidden feelings for her before?

"_Are you joking me? Mikaela Banes? She has never once been nice to either of us." A sixteen-year-old Clara told Sam._

_Sam shrugged. "I think she's misunderstood, Clarabear."_

_Clara rolled her eyes. "Oh sure she is."_

_Sam gave her a look. "You're the one who is always telling me to give people a chance—so why not Mikaela?"_

"_You're only giving her a chance because of her body." Clara told him and then held her hands up in surrender. "Give her a chance—I bet she's not all that bad, Sampson."_

_Clara sighed a little and blew her bangs out of her face when Sam nodded and grinned—he loved having Clara's support. Clara, however, couldn't figure out why Sam preferred Mikaela's body to hers. Clara wasn't a bombshell or anything, but she was certainly very attractive. She and Mikaela both had dark brown hair and attractive facial features, but Mikaela was tanner and Clara had been growing up as Sam's best friend/sister over the years and Clara had to let it go—Mikaela was Sam's choice. Clara flashed Sam a reassuring smile that she had come up with over the years to hide her crush, and then headed out to her car and drove to the Junior High to pick up her sisters._

"_You look down." Emma said as she and Jenna both hopped into the backseat—Clara never let either of them have shotgun because they always fought over it._

_Clara shrugged. "Sam found a girl today."_

_Jenna sighed. "So you're not going to tell him that you broke up with Jason for him then?"_

_Clara shook her head. "Never."_

Clara sat down on the couch with Jenna and looked at her parents after she and her sister exchanged glances. Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson both looked a little nervous and so Clara and Jenna felt a little nervous themselves. Mrs. Ferguson smiled though and sat down across from them in the big chair Mr. Ferguson sat in to watch the game, and Mr. Ferguson took a deep breath. Growing up, the Ferguson girls had learned not to try and overlap when their father was talking, and never to ask too many questions when he was getting ready to speak. So they sat there, listening intently when their father began to speak.

"You two have to meet up with Emma at the N.E.S.T. headquarters because of your necklaces." Mr. Ferguson began. "You see, a long time ago, Prime 1 gave me those three necklaces to keep until the time was right—until I knew that their power was at their peak. The necklaces represent the heart, brain and brawn of the ancients, and in order to fulfill your destinies as the necklaces keepers, you three have to figure out the meanings of the symbols, find the location of the ancient power—brother to the Matrix—and you have to do whatever it is that you know needs to be done."

Jenna stared at her father, her jaw dropped as Clara took in the information. "You tell the weirdest jokes, Dad."

Mr. Ferguson smiled at Jenna. "It's not a joke, Sweetheart…it's the truth, and you need to go and find Emma. You all haven't been feeling a little more energized as of late? Jenna you haven't been feeling more prone to mouthing off and aggression? Clara you haven't been feeling more ruled by your emotions? Emma hasn't been too busy trying to work on weapons and things that she hasn't called?"

Clara swallowed. "You bestowed the power of the ancients to your three bumbling idiots of daughters?"

"Hey! I'm quite intelligent, thank you!" Jenna replied.

"Suuure you are." Glitcher told her, avoiding her move to hit him. "Aggression!"

"I need to talk to Optimus." Clara stated simply, and she found herself getting up and heading out, automatically pulling out her cell phone to call Sam…

Clara was going to need all the help and support that she could get.

**Note: MORE OPTIMUS AND SAM NEXT CHAPTER! Also, I have just started Summer classes! YAY! However, due to my current work schedule (I'm a nanny for triplets) and the annoying summer schedule of classes, I am only able to take online classes this quarter. *insert sad face here* lol. That means that I am going to be busy, and may only be posting once a week and/or when I have the time to post. I wish I could post more, but I have a lot of work to do this quarter! I love you all for your support! ~Kyla**


	6. Explanations

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Thank you everyone for your feedback and support!**

**This story shall continue, and I think you'll all like this chapter.**

**=P**

****

"_Listen to your father, Clara." Optimus told her softly._

_Clara hugged herself as Bumblebee dropped Sam off in the cemetery. The minute that Clara had told him that she was going to be involved in yet another Aubtobot/Decepticon fight, Sam had come to her aid. Clara had needed to talk to Optimus before she made her decision, because his thoughts on the matter were important to her. Sam came over to her and took off his jacket, draping it over her shoulders and smiling a little before he looked at Optimus. Clara really didn't want the two to argue about anything, and so she quickly spoke up before Sam could ask any questions since he wasn't informed on the whole situation quite yet._

"_So it's true? These necklaces are a key to the past of Cybertron?" Clara asked Optimus._

_Optimus nodded. "I do not believe that you understand quite how much you mean to this particular quest, Clara."_

_Clara smiled sadly. "I'm just not quite sure how Jenna, Emma and I can do this. I mean…the three of us are kind of like the last people __**I**__ would put the fate of the Autobots in the hands of."_

_Sam kissed the top of her head as he rubbed her shoulders in the dark. No matter where Clara went or what she did, Sam was going to be there for her. If that meant following her to find another piece of the past of Cybertron, then so be it. He smiled as Clara leaned into him, Sam found his stomach flip-flopping a little, and he realized that he'd never felt that reaction so strongly ever. He'd felt the sensation with Mikaela, but never felt like he couldn't make the sensation go away being this close to the girl he was attracted to._

"_I'll be with you every step of the way, Clarabear." Sam assured her, and she smiled warmly up at him._

Clara rubbed her temples. "You took the wrong exit, Sampson. I told you to let me drive."

"Or you could have let, I dunno, _Bumblebee_ drive…since we're in him and all." Jenna said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she shrugged her shoulders and put her headphones in her ears then mumbled, "Because _that _doesn't sound wrong in the slightest."

Sam rolled his eyes. "I wanted to do something on my own, thank you."

Clara smiled at him and reached over to grasp his hand before looking at the dash. "Bumblebee…can you drive to N.E.S.T. Headquarters, please?"

Sam sighed and took his hands off of the wheel, letting Bumblebee drive them the rest of the way to N.E.S.T. Headquarters. Glitcher had been quiet the entire car ride, and though Clara was worried, Jenna felt more comfortable sitting next to him. He had spent the beginning of the car ride in Clara's lap, but he got a little tired of the loving looks being exchanged between Clara and Sam, so he had gone into the backseat and smiled a little when Jenna moved her MP3 Player away from him. Now Sam and Clara were holding hands, and Glitcher was certain that it was about time he had a talk with Sam about his beloved human.

It's not that Glitcher didn't want Clara and Sam to be happy together—it was that Glitcher wasn't quite sure about Sam right now. He knew that he could trust Sam with Clara's life, but it hurt him that Sam was so completely ignorant of Clara's feelings for him all these years and now suddenly he's unattached and wants his best friend? Glitcher wanted Clara to have the best, and he knew that though he could trust Sam with Clara's life, he couldn't trust Sam with Clara's heart. Glitcher loved his human more than anything, and he wanted to know she was happy, protected…and loved.

"I can't believe that you don't trust my driving skills!" Sam told Clara playfully.

Clara smiled. "You're just upset you took the wrong exit off the Highway."

Sam rolled his eyes and then smiled at Clara. "Tease all you want—I still drive better than you do."

_A sixteen year-old Clara glared at a sixteen-year-old Sam as he gripped the handle on the door of the car and then chuckled a little when he saw the glare she directed at him. She didn't like being made fun of for her driving, but Sam really couldn't help himself at all. She had officially almost driven into the garage door in the driveway, and Sam had been teasing her since. Clara reached over and smacked him which made him let out a planned manly howl of terror, and Clara rolled her eyes._

"_Keep both hands on the wheel!" Sam yelled._

_Clara sighed. "You know you're actually making me __**want**__ to drive us into a freaking pole, or __**into**__ a freaking ditch. My driving is not __**that**__ bad. I got my license didn't I?"_

_Sam shrugged. "Having a license doesn't mean you can drive!"_

_Clara glared at him again. "I'm about to pull over and push you out."_

_Sam looked over at her as she diverted her eyes back to the road, and he noticed that for once in her life Clara looked a little less accommodating than usual. He didn't realize it then, but it was the first day that Clara hadn't worn her necklace. She was rather upset today—definitely more disgruntled than usual—and Sam reached over to rest his hand on her knee. Clara glanced at the hand patting her knee, and she knew she couldn't be too mad at the boy she was secretly in love with. She smiled softly, and then removed his hand from her knee and shot him a serious look because the day had been a trying day for her._

"_You can't be forgiven __**that**__ easily, Sampson." Clara told him._

"_Whatever you say, Clarabear." Sam replied. "You know you love me."_

_Clara nodded—he really didn't understand how much._

When they got to N.E.S.T. Headquarters, Clara beamed at Captain Lennox as he came over to greet them, and once Jenna and Glitcher had made it out, Bumblebee transformed back into himself and Sam rested his hand on Clara's right hip as he stood to her left. Clara was a little caught off guard by the movement and simply blushed as Captain Lennox had them follow him, Glitcher having to be held back from attacking Sam by Jenna. Jenna normally kept her hands to herself as far as Glitcher was concerned, but even though they fought, the two were fond of each other. Glitcher was part of the family, and the fact that he wanted to protect Clara from anything and everything, made him a valued member of the family.

"Just chill, Glitch—Clara's been pretty damn strong all on her own at this point." Jenna told the defected Decepticon in her arms. "If she needs our help we'll give it to her, but right now she just needs the support."

Glitcher looked at her. "What happened to the violent smart-ass?"

Jenna laughed. "I took the necklace off…I don't always like being the brawn, you know."

Glitcher laughed a little and the two followed behind Sam and Clara and the soldiers, Jenna's eyes widened as she let out a hearty laugh. There in front of them when they got to the encampment inside was Emma sitting on a lying down Ironhide, tinkering on something or other. Jenna was more than excited to see her twin, and enjoyed that Ironhide was protesting while Emma was telling him to stop being a baby. Jenna took a moment to look around for her beloved Rachet, but when she didn't see him, she decided to speak up to Emma before Clara could ruin the fun by explaining the necklaces.

"What the Hell are you doing, Em?" Jenna called up to her sister.

Emma looked down at the people below and laughed tools in her hands. "I'm making out with an Autobot—what does it look like I'm doing?"

Jenna laughed. "Looks like you're equipping something."

Emma nodded. "Well then I'm doing exactly what it looks like I'm doing. I fashioned a new weapon for Optimus, and Ironhide volunteered to test it out."

"I did no such thing." Ironhide protested.

Clara laughed at her younger sister and couldn't help shaking her head, Sam laughing a bit himself. It was pretty common knowledge that the Ferguson girls had gotten quite attached the Autobots—and Clara to her defected Decepticon—but what wasn't common knowledge was the weird 'never-gonna-happen-crushes' they'd all developed on their protectors. If the Autobots were human, there would be nothing in the world to keep them from the advances of the Ferguson girls, but since they were in fact giant organic alien robots, the girls accepted the protection and the friendship. Besides, when you had a giant robot, where was your need for a pet or boyfriend anyway?

"_You can't seriously be thinking of keeping this thing." Sam told Clara._

_Clara rolled her eyes. "You be nice to Glitchy or I'm disowning you as my best friend in the entire world."_

_Jenna laughed. "She'll do it too—she has become so attached to the little guy you'd think she got a puppy for Christmas."_

_Sam couldn't understand how Clara could possibly take in the defected Decepticon she was showing him right there—even __**if**__ Optimus trusted him or not. As far as Sam was concerned, a Decepticon was a Decepticon, and Glitcher couldn't be trusted until he could __**prove**__ that he could be trusted. Clara's safety mattered most to Sam, even if he was finally getting that budding romance with Mikaela that he wanted and that meant he had to be near her now more than ever. Sam and Clara had always pretty much been inseparable, but now it was imperative that he was with her always because Glitcher could always turn and betray her and Sam couldn't let that happen._

"_Look guys—I trust him. You guys trust my judgment don't you?" Clara asked them._

_Sam sighed. "Of course we do."_

_Emma laughed. "About __**most**__ things anyway. I mean that crush you have on—"_

"—_then trust Glitcher." Clara cut her sister off before she could spill the beans about her crush on Sam. "Besides, he made me a promise."_

_Sam raised an eyebrow. "What sort of promise."_

_Clara smiled. "He promised to protect me…no matter what."_

"What a minute, wait a minute—if Ironhide didn't agree to be the volunteer then how in the world did you get him on the ground?" Clara asked Emma with a laugh.

Emma blushed a little and shrugged. "I might have maybe…short-circuited him for a minute or two. Besides, he's my protector—that means that he automatically volunteers for what I need and/or want."

Ironhide laughed. "It does not. Wait…it don't mean that, does it Optimus?"

Optimus looked at him. "If she needs something, Ironhide, you need to help her fulfill that need—within reason of course."

Ironhide sighed and Clara couldn't help but laugh a little more until she noticed that Emma's necklace was glowing. She and Jenna had talked to their father about what the necklaces really meant while Clara was waiting for Sam to get ready to come over, and she'd felt a little more secure and yet still overwhelmed. Clara was scared about what taking off the necklace had meant, even though Jenna hadn't been so much. Jenna didn't mind the prospect of taking it off and being her own self for a little while, but Clara didn't know what taking of the necklace would mean now.

"I don't mean to break up the love fest…but where is Rachet?" Jenna asked out loud. "I haven't seen my so-called protector in a month and I kind of miss the crap out of him."

Emma laughed. "Rachet was fixing up Babs—one of the motorcycle Autobots. If you head on down that way and then hang a left at the end, you'll find him."

Jenna beamed. "All right, that's good to know. First though…we kind of need to talk to you. So if you could come on down off of the Autobot you'd be all over if he was human, that would be perfect."

Ironhide coughed. "Please don't say things like that so loud, Jenna."

"Like you're my boss." Jenna replied, but she winked at Ironhide and he took her joke.

"What is this all about?" Emma asked casually as she began to get off of Ironhide and get down with the help of his large, guiding robotic hand.

Clara smiled a little. "It's about our necklaces."

_After making sure to tell Sam that she needed him and she needed him to get Bumblebee to get a message to Optimus, Clara went back into the house and she sat back down next to Jenna who was confused, and Glitcher who was waiting for the big punch line. To be honest, Clara and Jenna were pretty sure that their father was yanking their chain and taking it too far, but their mother was in on it—what if he was telling the truth? What if all these years that they had believed in Autobots and the Fallen and Decepticons, they had really always been part of a bigger plan in Cybertron history? What if they really had to do this quest because a long time ago their father had bestowed on them something they now didn't know that they wanted?_

"_Daddy?" Clara tried, but Jenna shook her head and Clara let __**her**__ take it from there._

"_Are you trying to tell us that when we were five and thought we were getting family heirlooms—that we then learned at 13 were part of ancient Cybertron history—you condemned us to have to be part of an Autobot and Decepticon war?" Jenna asked him._

_Mrs. Ferguson shook her head. "No girls, you're missing the point. When your father and I were told the story, your grandfather handed down the necklaces and explained the prophecies to us. So when we had Clara and then you and Emma, we realized that it was our duty to give you three the necklaces—especially when they started to glow."_

_Clara nodded and took a deep breath, reaching over to hold Jenna's hand, and Jenna let her hold it. Glitcher curled up in Clara's lap to let her know that no matter what he was there for her, and Clara swallowed as Mr. Ferguson sat back down in his living room chair and ran his hand down his face. Mr. Ferguson always did that gesture when he was trying to find the words to say, and soon he had a whole speech formed, and he let Jenna and Clara have it._

"_When Clara was five, we had already realized that she was more than capable of love—she after all couldn't think about anyone but Sam. Then you Jenna—you learned how to walk and talk rather quickly, and Emma read faster than either of you two learned, and the necklaces picked you. Now, since the Matrix has been used, it is time to find the other energy source before its time runs out." Mr. Ferguson explained._

_Jenna sighed. "Well then…I guess it's time we went to go and see Emma."_

Emma reached up to touch her necklace as Jenna and Clara explained everything to her that their father had explained to them and Emma smirked. She hadn't realized that the necklaces had simply enhanced their special qualities. In fact knowing that, Emma didn't want to give the necklace back, and neither did Jenna or Clara. A big part of activating the other Cybertron energy source was giving the necklaces up, and none of the Ferguson girls wanted to do that—for different reasons.

Jenna didn't want to give her necklace up just in case she ever truly needed to fight—like in another Autobot/Decepticon war—even though she wasn't the fondest of her gift. She wasn't entirely happy about having to be classified as the aggressive one, even if she knew that out of her and her sisters, she was the one better suited to take care of herself and the others around her as far as fighting was concerned. Emma loved the fact that her necklace gave her a better idea of the weapons and electronics she wanted to be around everyday. Giving up the necklace meant not having an amplified sense of knowledge on the subjects, and Emma didn't want to be done with any of that. Clara on the other hand was most worried about the loss of the necklace diminishing her love for Sam and everyone around her. If she was indeed the heart…then didn't that mean that all of the feelings that she had for everyone and everything would become less when the necklace was removed?

"So how do we start looking for this source?" Clara asked.

Emma cleared her throat. "Does Optimus really want to find it?"

Jenna nodded. "I'm with Em—if he doesn't want it then why should we give up part of lives just to find some stupid energy source?"

Clara sighed. "I'll talk to Optimus…alone preferably."

Sam started to protest but Clara took his hand and kissed it, leaving him with Emma and Jenna in a debriefing room. Sam looked at the other two Ferguson girls and smiled a little, both of them with odd looks on their faces. He wasn't quite sure of what he had just gotten himself into and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. Jenna and Emma exchanged looks before Emma spoke up and Jenna grinned.

"We need to talk to you, Sam…about Clara." Emma said as Jenna nodded vigorously.

They were going to talk to him about her finally…

Clara deserved some happiness.


	7. Secrets

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Okay, so there are definitely some fun things planned for this chapter.**

**I hope you enjoy it.**

**Shout-out to my buddies DangerDodge (Go read her Jason Kent story), KyleenaCloud1790 (my inspiration for Emma—go read her stuff) and MiraStelloc (my little sister AND inspiration in general for most things (in this story for Jenna)—she has a Bones story up on her account).**

**Anyway…onto the story.**

**=P**

****

"You two have that look on your face like when you were seven and you fed my shoes to your dog." Sam told them.

"You deserved that." Jenna said with a smile and shrug.

Jenna and Emma both laughed as they recalled that memory and then they shook their heads and Emma pointed to a chair. Sam looked between them and at their stone hard faces and decided to sit down as to not infer their wrath. They could both be incredibly sweet when they wanted to be, but most Sam kept his loins girded because he always tended to do something that led to them ganging up on him. As he sat down he looked up at them to let them know that they had his full attention, and Jenna started them off.

"You seriously need to talk to my sister about shanghaiing her with that kiss." Jenna said.

Emma gasped and looked at Jenna. "He _kissed_ her?! You _kissed_ her?!"

Sam looked at them both. "Are you two seriously going to interrogate me about something that doesn't mean anything?"

"It means _everything_!" Emma protested. "Sam, you can't just let her go."

"Yeah…you can't use her and then just run back to Mikaela with your tail between your legs like a wounded puppy." Jenna added.

Sam raised an eyebrow and looked the twins over, both them turning to each other to talk to each other and _not_ Sam. Jenna started to paraphrase what Clara had told her, Emma making random faces and gasps, and then turning to Sam with her hands on her hips. Sam wasn't sure he liked that very much as the two suddenly looked even more devious than before, and Sam certainly didn't like that Jenna was putting her necklace back on like she was about to serve him a beat down. He wasn't using Clara—he really wasn't. He simply hadn't figured out a way to get her to realize that he really did love her yet and knew that though it meant everything to him, the kiss between them hadn't phased her.

"Talk to her, Sam." Jenna said.

"I have talked to her, and right now we're both happy with how things are going between us. Besides—we have necklaces to worry about." Sam replied as he began to stand.

Emma reached out to touch his shoulder. "Talk to her…she's been in love with you since she was four and she just needs firm reassurance."

_Emma and Jenna both crossed their arms over their chest simultaneously, giving Clara looks. They knew that Clara didn't mean what she was saying, but she was saying it anyway. Jenna wanted to go over to Sam's and insist that the two of them sit down and talk things out and Emma wanted Clara to own up to Sam. The two of them were sick of the fight that Clara and Sam were in, and though Clara wanted it to be over too, but was waiting for Sam to apologize first._

"_I don't even understand why you're fighting with him. He's single…you're single. I mean come on! You're both seventeen and there's a dance coming, and Emily is not as pretty as you." Emma told her with a shrug._

_Jenna nodded. "Emily only wants Sam because that way __**you**__ can't have him. If you let her win just because you and Sam are fighting over something ridiculous, you're going to regret it later."_

_Clara shrugged. "I just don't want to talk to him—and why would I want to go with Sam Witwicky to the spring formal anyway?"_

_Jenna smiled. "Because you love him."_

_Clara furrowed her brow and then stood up and left her own room, not wanting to deal with either of her sisters at that particular moment. She just wanted to go out on a walk and think on her own, and ignore what was happening. Clara and Sam actually tended to do that a lot—get in a fight over something stupid and ignore it until something that they both wanted came along that made them speak to each other again. That or they found something they were both mad at and they focused their anger that instead of on each other._

"_Clara! Come back and talk to him!" Emma called after her as Clara fled down the stairs._

"_No! I am __**not**__ talking to the boy that let Emily Ferris kiss him today and then asked the little home-wrecker to the spring formal!" Clara retorted._

_Jenna sighed. "Why didn't you just tell us that in the first place then, Clara?"_

"_I don't want to talk about it!" Clara yelled back, and then swung the front door open to see Sam standing there in mid knock. "Not today, Sam."_

Clara looked at Optimus with sad eyes and nodded, smiling at him fondly was he reached down to let her lean against his hand for comfort. Of course Optimus wanted help with part of his planet's past. Why had she ever thought that he wouldn't? Maybe she was overreacting…maybe if she took off the necklace she'd still be overwhelmed with love for Sam…maybe. It was the fact that all she had to go off of were 'maybes' that was making her upset, and she wished the feeling would go away. She just wanted to get this over with and start her new life 'enhanced feelings-necklace' free, and she certainly didn't want to deal with Sam right then and there bursting into the enclosure.

"I need to talk to Clara." Sam said hurriedly, and Optimus nodded.

"Optimus and I are still actually talking about the whole necklace thing, Sampson so if it could wait…" Clara tried, but Optimus was starting to leave.

Sam took Clara by the hand. "Please let me talk to you now."

"Sam, I'm really trying to get this all—" Clara tried.

"—Clara!" Sam cut her off.

Clara slowly closed her mouth as Optimus left them in the giant enclave that the Autobots stayed in most days at N.E.S.T., and let Sam lead her out. She hadn't wanted to leave and have any kind of talk with Sam at the moment after what she and Optimus had just discussed, but she knew she didn't have a choice. She swallowed as Sam looked at her directly, and couldn't help but feel absolutely no control over the lump rising in her throat. What could Sam possibly have to say to her that couldn't wait? What could he possibly have to talk to her about that they couldn't discuss when this whole necklace thing blew over?

"Since you were four? Clara…why did you tell me to try the kiss on a girl that wasn't like my sister? Do you know how much I wanted to date you after that day in the pool?" Sam asked her.

"They told you." Clara stated lamely, and took a step back as Sam took a step towards her. "They just don't understand the power of the necklaces."

"_Clara?" Optimus asked her with concern._

_Clara looked up at him with sad eyes and forced a smile through the fear she was feeling all over. Optimus wished that he could just scoop her up into his arms and hold her close until all of her sadness and doubt went away—until he could help her to find the carefree girl that she used to be. He didn't like that Clara was looking at him like she felt bad about letting him down, because truth be told, she never could. Still, Clara felt incredibly distraught about what she was about to put Optimus through when she cared about him so much and when he had done so much for her…but she had to be honest with him._

"_I don't think any of us want to part with the necklaces." Clara told Optimus truthfully. "Still…no one is as worried as I am about what's going to happen when the necklaces comes off."_

_Optimus nodded. "I understand that, Clara…but wouldn't you like to know who you are? Wouldn't you like to know what it's like without the crutch of a source of unknown power?"_

"_But it's __**not**__ unknown Optimus! I trust you and Cybertron, and I just…what if I don't love him this much anymore?" Clara asked him. "All I've ever known about Sam is that I'm in love with him—that I want him desperately."_

_Optimus smiled a little and nodded at his beloved human girl, knowing that there was only one thing he could say to make her feel better about what was going on. He knew how important Sam was to Clara, and how scared she was to lose anything that had to do with him. Still, Optimus knew Clara's heart so well by this point in their relationship that he knew she would make the right choice in the end. Even though she, Emma and Jenna had been bestowed with a taste of the ancient powers of Cybertron, Clara would return the power to its rightful place._

"_You have to make the decision on your own." Optimus told her._

_Clara nodded. "It's just a hard decision to make."_

Emma shook her head a little. "He's an idiot."

"Well duh, everyone knows that. Where have you been? Seriously, where have you been?" Jenna said as she opened up a lollipop.

"Here, making weapons and studying their technology. Why?" Emma replied with a smile.

"I was all alone and Glitcher kept glitching my mp3 player. I tried to strangle him a few times, but he's a robot that doesn't die…and Clara would hate it if I killed him…and Ratchet's been gone for a whole month…so I've been bored out of my frickin' mind." Jenna replied sticking the sucker into her mouth.

Emma laughed. "Do you want me to turn him off for an hour or so? I'm sorry. I really should've come and spent time with you."

"No, it's okay and yes, you should have. Sucker?" Jenna asked opening her purse and sticking her head inside. "I have strawberry, and cherry, and black cherry, blue raspberry, apple, orange, grape, watermelon, and mystery."

"Surprise me." Emma told her.

Jenna smiled at her twin, glad to have the human company back that she had been so deprived of. It wasn't that Clara wasn't good company when she needed to be, it was just that Jenna and Emma had always done everything together and they desperately missed each other. Now that they were no longer apart and they were on the same front about keeping the necklaces, it was nice to have someone to tease and confide in again that already knew what she was thinking.

"Mystery it is." Jenna told her sister as they both laughed and Emma popped the lollipop into her mouth.

"What should we do now?" Emma asked, suddenly itching to do something.

Jenna grinned deviously a moment. "Hmmm. I'm thinking eavesdrop. Those two are still talking otherwise they'd be down here by now."

"I'm cool with that." Emma told her sister, returning the devious grin with one of her own.

_Clara looked at her little sisters as they sunbathed in the back yard, laughing a little and shaking her head at how adorable they really were. Sam was coming over that day to hang out with them and play in the pool, and Clara was looking forward to it. She headed out onto the lawn and Jenna groaned, Emma looking up at her sister and making a face. Clara knew that she was in her sister's sun, but Clara simply wanted to spend some time with them._

"_Tanning? Really?" Clara asked them._

_Emma nodded. "Well duh."_

_Jenna laughed. "Tanning is more fun than hopping into the pool."_

_Clara shrugged. "Not really…depends on who you're in the pool with."_

_Jenna and Emma both raised an eyebrow and then looked at their sister as Clara blushed, smiled and bit her lip. They normally saw their sister as this very outgoing and passionate person, but right now she seemed coy. She was bubbling with joy and they wanted to know what was up, so they sat up expectantly and looked at their fifteen-year-old sister and nodded for her to go. Clara closed her eyes and then opened them and the excitement she was feeling could no longer be contained._

"_Even though it really didn't mean anything, Sam and I kissed!" Clara exclaimed happily. "I mean he's still just my best friend, but I mean…my first kiss…Sam Witwicky."_

_Emma jumped up. "Oh my God!"_

_Jenna laughed. "Now…are you going to just stand there, or are you going to tell us the whole story and then tell Sam about your feelings for him?"_

_Clara blushed a little more. "I'm not going to tell him anything about my feelings, but here's what happened…"_

"What about the necklaces?" Sam asked her, still stepping closer to her.

Clara looked up into Sam's eyes as he backed her up against a wall and she knew she had nowhere else to run. How was it that Sam could have broken up with Mikaela and so soon after been suddenly interested in her, his best friend of almost 16 years? They were best friends, and it was supposed to be easier than this—it was supposed to be unrequited love. It didn't matter how many times she had wanted this to happen…it wasn't _actually_ supposed to happen. It didn't matter what had happened between the two of them in the past or present…Sam Witwicky had never loved Clara Ferguson the way she had loved him.

"Please don't, Sampson." Clara breathed, but she wanted him to kiss her, and she knew that her looking at his lips was a dead give away.

"Please let me, Clara." Sam replied.

Clara nodded slowly and then closed her eyes as Sam's lips pressed against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and slipped her fingers into his hair, stroking his scalp lovingly, feeling the silk of his hair on her fingertips. As Clara parted her lips for Sam's tongue to slip in though, his arms around her waist the door opened. Mikaela and Leo entered the enclave, and the loud kicking of a nearby machine from Leo broke Sam and Clara pulled apart, looking over and Clara blushing as Sam stepped away from her and Mikaela nodded…

Well that sure didn't take him long…

**Note: Props to Aidan and Nikole (MiraStelloc and KyleenaCloud1790) for writing the last Emma/Jenna dialogue since they are my inspiration for them and I needed help, so I let them really define their own characters. =P**


	8. Decisions

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**And another chapter for Pups.**

**I adore her.**

**This chapter is angsty, flows a little differently, and has Decepticons in it.**

**=P**

**Also, thank you Nikole for helping me out by naming the energy source.**

**I appreciate it.**

**=)**

****

"Megatron…we believe we've found the Everflower, but we're lacking the keys to it." Starscream explained.

Megatron sighed loudly. "Do you know where the keys are, or are you failing me yet again, Starscream?"

Starscream cowered. "They are in the possession of three girls."

Megatron nodded and then he called together his most trusted Decepticons and sent them forth to find the keys to the Everflower. He wasn't quite sure what the keys looked like, but he knew the energy signature that they gave off when they activated. It was only a matter of time before the silly humans did something they weren't supposed to do and alerted him to their presence, and he knew no matter what he would be able to finish this task since he had so desperately failed for the Matrix. All he could be thankful for about that was that he had come out of it with his life…even though he now thought of himself as a coward.

"Barricade—you're taking care of the strongest girl among them." Megatron explained. "Soundwave is working on figuring out exactly what the keys are and how they are to be used, but I wouldn't mind prying the keys from cold, dead, human fingers."

"Megatron?" Starscream asked cautiously.

Megatron sighed and looked at him. "Yes?"

"They're with Optimus." Starscream explained and cowered at the sight of Megatron's completely vicious face.

**

Mikaela really couldn't believe that Sam was already making-out with Clara Ferguson. All the times that they had lied to her and had told her that nothing was going on and here they were, all over each other practically. Four days? He was really over the love they had both once thought that they had together in exactly four days? And to think that she dragged Leo with her to make sure Sam was going to be all right when she saw Bumblebee heading out of town…now she didn't want to be here. Sam was apparently where _he_ wanted to be, and there was no reason for her to be there no matter how much she wanted to support the Autobots.

"It looks like there's a party going on in here." Leo said, knowing it wasn't the best thing to say, but not exactly stopping himself.

Clara blushed more. "I'm glad you guys are here—we could use all the help that we can get with finding the location of this energy source, thingy the Autobots need."

Mikaela nodded. "Well I'm only here to help the Autobots."

With one last painful look at Sam she fled the room and Sam hurried after her, saying her name. Clara and Leo stood there in an awkward silence, Clara certain that if a pin dropped Leo would scream like a little girl and she'd jump at the disturbance that would cut through the calm. After meeting each other Clara and Leo had actually bonded rather well but this was different—he had just walked in on Clara being the exact kind of person she had hoped she'd never be…a home wrecker.

"So are you looking forward to going back to school?" Clara asked him.

"Oh, well I get to room with Sam again so it should be fun. You living on campus again? I haven't seen you move any stuff in." Leo told her, genuinely interested because if she was coming back he'd have a reason to stop by and hit on her hot roommates.

Clara shook her head. "I don't think that it's a good idea given _all_ of the events that have been going on around here lately and in my life in general."

"Oh…bummer." Leo stated, and then the two fell back into a silence and Clara couldn't help but remember when she and Leo had first actually sat down and talked to each other.

_Clara looked up and caught Leo's eyes on her, smiling a little bit and she could only __**imagine**__ what was going on in his head. Leo had right off the back struck her as the kind of guy that was in it for a booty call, but those were the kinds of men she seemed to become really good friends with besides the nerds. She raised her eyebrows and gave him a look, motioning for him to sit down next to her while Sam and Mikaela conversed over near Bumblebee._

"_So…you and Sam are really close." Leo told her._

_Clara smiled. "Yeah we are—I've known him since we were three and a half."_

_Leo's eyes widened. "Wow…there's some serious history there then."_

"_There is, but we're simply like family." Clara told Leo with a blush._

_Leo noticed how quickly the blush rose in Clara's cheeks when she talked about Sam and couldn't help but smirk just a little bit. It was pretty obvious to him that Clara was harboring feelings for Sam she didn't want to admit out loud because Sam and Mikaela seemed so happy together. She was a really fabulous friend and Leo admired her and didn't at all want to overstep anything with her. So he just looked over at Mikaela, Sam and Optimus and then looked back at Clara who was staring at her feet so she wouldn't have to look at Mikaela's hand on Sam's arm._

"_So what do you think is going to happen this time around?" Leo asked her._

_Clara looked him in the eye. "I think right now the Decepticons have the upper hand."_

_Leo nodded. "And that's…bad, right?"_

"Mikaela will you please just stop?!" Sam asked her, reaching and grabbing her arm.

Mikalea tried to shake him off and turned to face him. "I don't want to talk about this anymore, Sam! I should have known what you were feeling the entire time!"

Sam closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them to see her walking away from him again. He followed behind her and reached out to grab her arm again, and this time Mikaela shook him off violently and then whirled on him angrily. There were tears in her dark eyes, and Sam wanted to reach out and brush her tears away as they began to fall as she yelled at him but he knew he shouldn't. Their relationship was officially over, and even though they needed to talk about it so they could have complete closure after the walking away, he needed to keep a little bit of distance from her.

"You gave _me_ the ultimatum, Mikaela." Sam told her firmly.

Mikaela nodded. "Yeah, I did…and I admit that it really wasn't one of my shining moments but you've made it clear to me _why_ you picked her."

Sam scoffed. "I did not pick her because I was in love with her! I didn't know that I was! I picked her because she's my best friend and you were making me choose between someone who has been there for me my entire life and someone who didn't even know I really existed until after we survived an alien battle together!"

Mikaela wiped away a few tears and regained her composure. "Well…then I hope you're happy together since you love her."

"Mikaela…" Sam tried because he hadn't realized he'd blurted that out.

"Just leave me alone, Sam." Mikaela told him, and he nodded and watched as she headed down the hall and ended up face to face with Jenna and Emma.

**

Megatron felt more confident when he had given Barricade, Bonecrusher and Destroyer their orders, all of them waiting for Soundwave's confirmation on the identity of the girls he was looking for. He was certain that one of them was Optimus' precious Clara, and if it was then Megatron was looking forward to watching Barricade crush her into the ground. Clara had given Sam Witwicky the strength that he needed to go on more times than Megatron had wished she had, and it was about time that Optimus suffered a devastating blow that would finally weaken him.

"It is Clara, Megatron." Barricade reported. "Soundwave just fed us the information. She and her younger twin sisters were bestowed with necklaces when they were very young—those necklaces are the key to tapping into the true potential of the Everflower."

Megatron nodded. "Then you have your orders, Barricade—and make it unpleasant."

"Shouldn't we be more stealthy with Optimus there?" Starscream asked.

"What are you proposing, Starscream?" Bonecrusher asked as he stepped closer to the Decepticon.

Bonecrusher and Destroyer were perfect at intimidation, and Starscream suddenly felt like if he said something wrong, he'd be ripped apart. He decided to choose his words to his leader as carefully as possible…trying not to step on any robot toes as he explained his plan. Starscream was better at coming up with plans than he was at the actual fighting, and since Optimus had been outfitted with better weaponry, Starscream had been even less wanting of battle out in the field. However, if Megatron sent him out to fight, he would have absolutely no choice but to comply.

"If we send in Hacker, he can get the necklaces without any fuss or…we can send in Machshifter." Starscream suggested, knowing Megatron would take to that idea even though Machshifter was still a prototype.

"That's actually not bad, Starscream. Barricade—bring me Machshifter." Megatron ordered.

**

Clara wrapped her arms around herself and stood out in the fresh air as the sun was setting. She pointed her face towards the sky and she opened her eyes as she heard footsteps behind her. Emma and Jenna had made her vaguely aware of the fight that Mikaela and Sam had in the hall earlier, and Clara just wanted to put it all behind her because she had more important things to think about. Sam Witwicky had once been all she could ever think about, but right now she had the Autobots to think about.

"I know you well enough to know that this thinking out here on your own is never a good sign." Sam told Clara, smiling at her but letting it fade as she nodded.

"I can't be with you, Sampson." Clara told him and it broke her to say it out loud but she knew that it had to be said. "We have so much to focus on and we just broke Mikaela's heart in two and I can't do that to her. She has never once hurt me and we're completely besmirching the character that you were raised to have."

Sam nodded and put his hands in his pockets instead of around her like he wanted. "I understand where you're coming from, Clarabear, I do. Optimus asked us to do a job and we're going to see it through…professionally."

"Of course we are. Hell, we've been able to work together professionally for years and it hasn't failed us yet." Clara told him, only glancing at him with her grin for a moment and then walking past him as the tears came, stopping when his voice caught her attention.

"That was before love entered the picture." Sam said, knowing it was all he could say as she walked away from him.

Clara nodded. "Yes, but on my side it's always been there and now it doesn't matter."

Clara hurried back inside the N.E.S.T. headquarters before Sam could protest about anything that had just been said and she found Glitcher. She sat down next to him and she bit her lip and hung her head to cry. Mikaela stumbled in as Glitcher told her that she had made the right choice telling Sam that the relationship between them had to be purely platonic and Mikaela hung her head as well. She tried to leave the room but Clara's head jerked up as Mikaela's sneakers squeaked on the floor and Mikaela's sad eyes met with Clara's wet ones.

"I'm so sorry, Mikaela—I never meant to hurt you." Clara explained sincerely.

_Glitcher hated seeing Clara cry but it was understandable. She'd broken up with her boyfriend, it was two weeks before prom, and Sam had Mikaela to go with. She was currently sitting in the living room eating Haagen Daas Coffee flavored ice cream while watching _**Down With Love**_. He was curled up with her as she tried hard not to cry and just watched as the movie progressed from one scene to the next. One thing he had learned about Clara was that she was forward and abrasive—as long as Sam Witwicky wasn't involved—and Glitcher wanted to see that side of her now._

"_What is the point in this movie?" Glitcher asked her._

_Clara shrugged. "The girl is tricking the boy into falling in love with her, and since it's a chick flick…you can only guess what happens in the end."_

_Glitcher nodded. "Then why are you watching it?"_

"_It's funny and a little perverted." Clara replied, shoving a large spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and fixing her eyes back on the movie._

"_That's all well and good but how does it make you forget about Sam?" Glitcher asked her._

"_It doesn't." Clara replied sadly. "Nothing ever does…and nothing probably ever will."_

_Glitcher nodded and decided to stop asking her anymore questions, watching the movie with her and then hugging her when she started to cry while she sang along with Renee and Ewan in the end. He told her that he would go to prom with her which thankfully made her laugh, and she told him she'd accept if she could drag him there and not have it look suspicious. All that mattered to Glitcher was that he'd made Clara laugh._

Optimus was glad to have Clara come and sit by him like the old days, and the two of them looked out at the sunset and sat in silence for a moment or two. In the past the two of them had always seemed to be able to just sit in a comfortable silence and then talk things over…even when Optimus was making a tough decision that broke his heart. Clara was the one human that was the most dear to him and her safety was more important to him than anything else. If it was between her safety and his fragile feelings of love and care for her, her safety was the top priority.

"I hate to see you sad, Clara." Optimus told her, gazing at her as she stared hard at the now darker colors on the horizon.

Clara smiled a little. "I'm going to be fine, Optimus…I've made my choices and I have to live with them—isn't that what you always taught me?"

Optimus laughed a little. "Yes…yes it is."

"I'm ready to do whatever it is that you need me to do, Optimus. You're dear to me and I trust and love you…I'm your girl to help found the energy source." Clara nodded and then she rested her head against the familiar organic robot and thought about what this meant.

Clara was going to give up her necklace…

**Note: All right next chapter is less relationship angsty and more about what they're doing with the necklaces since the Ferguson girls don't really want to give them up—especially the twins. Expect arguing, some action, and some more Decepticons! =P**


	9. Time

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Okay, this chapter focuses on the necklaces, Machshifter, and the relationships that aren't so much romantic—mainly the relationships the Ferguson's have with each other.**

**Next chapter focuses more on Clara and Sam, and the chapter after that is the girls and their protector bots.**

**=)**

****

It honestly wasn't as hard for Clara to part with her necklace as she thought that it would be. Clara cared about Optimus so much that she was willing to do absolutely anything for him—including give up the one thing she thought connected her to her feelings for Sam. Strangely, Clara found herself still rather in tune with her emotions, but she couldn't help but feel that something was missing. Knowing this was really her last shot with her sisters, she headed to find them, not liking the determined looks on their faces and taking a deep breath. Clara knew her sisters well enough to know these looks, and she knew that an argument was about to ensue.

"What is it now?" Clara asked them. "You two look like you've come to a decision…one I'm not going to like."

Emma nodded. "You're definitely _not_ going to like what it is we have to say."

"We're not giving the Autobots our necklaces, Clara. Look, we're sorry, but this just isn't our battle this time." Jenna explained with a shrug. "The necklaces were given to us, we like them, the Autobots don't _need_ the energy source, and so we're keeping them."

Clara stared at her sisters in shock and suddenly felt rage bubbling up inside of her—how could they _not_ give the necklaces back? The necklaces had only been bestowed on them for keeping until the right time came and not ever meant to be theirs to keep. She couldn't believe how selfish her sisters were being and thought they had quite the nerve to stand up to her and flat out refuse to help Optimus. What about the others? What about the Autobots that Jenna and Emma claimed to love so much?

"What the Hell is wrong with you two?" Clara ended up asking, her sisters throwing her angry glance. "This isn't just about some power that the necklaces give us! They were never ours to keep and our protectors need us right now! This is like spitting in _all_ of the Autobots' faces! I mean come on, Emma! You really think Ironhide is going to be happy with you that you're ruining a chance at rebuilding Cybertron for them? And Jenna! Rachet is never going to see the logic in your choice _or_ believe you to be compassionate for his future in anyway! And Optimus!"

"Yes, we know about your bond with your _precious_ Optimus!" Jenna snapped, her eyes blazing. "For your information, they have no idea what this energy source even does, so don't get all righteous on us!"

Emma nodded defiantly. "Jenna's right—this energy source might have _nothing_ to do with rebuilding anything…and who says we want them to go back if it does?"

"Unbelievable! You know what? Until you decide to be sisters again instead of selfish brats, don't talk to me." Clara replied, and she headed out of the room, going straight for Sam and Bumblebee, asking them to take her home.

_A seventeen-year-old Clara found herself climbing up the side of the Witwicky house, trying hard to keep her grip. It was a lot more challenging than she had thought it would be, and yet when she made it onto the roof next to Sam's window, she felt pleased with herself. It was far too late to go knocking on the door, even though she knew that Mr. and Mrs. Witwicky would gladly let her in to see Sam if something was bothering her. Something was __**definitely**__ bothering Clara but she didn't think it was important enough to wake up the __**entire**__ Witwicky household._

"_Sampson?" Clara whispered as she opened his window, thankful it was unlocked._

_Sam stirred and yawned. "What the…?"_

_Clara laughed and got in the window, closing it behind her. "Sampson? I'm sorry to wake you but I need to rant, so it was come over or sulk by myself."_

_Sam nodded and lifted up the covers for her, letting her snuggle herself into him like it was natural to do so. Clara fit right into him even though he never took the time to notice, and she couldn't focus on that with the things that were on her mind. Lately it seemed like no matter what she did, things at home were just hectic, secretive and confusing, and only Sam seemed to get her…only Sam wouldn't judge her._

"_What's wrong, Clarabear?" Sam asked her, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead before snuggling back into his pillow to try and doze __**and**__ listen at the same time._

_Clara took a deep breath. "Ever since Jenna and Emma started High School they've been driving me up the mother effing walls, Sampson! Today they actually blamed their teacher for giving them so much homework that they couldn't do their chores and I got stuck doing dishes for the fourth time this week! I have __**more**__ homework than they do!"_

"_Technically it __**is**__ the teacher's fault for the homework." Sam replied._

"_Sampson, are you on my side or aren't you?" Clara asked him rather annoyed._

_Sam opened his eyes and they made eye contact as he gave her the brother/sister peck on her lips. "I'm __**always**__ on your side, Clarabear."_

Noting the foul expression on her face, Sam knew he should just keep his mouth closed and take her home, but he was too curious. Glitcher pinched him, noting the look in his eyes and trying to keep him from upsetting his precious Clara. However, Glitcher hardly ever got Sam to shut his yap when he wanted him too, so when Sam opened his mouth, Glitcher made noises and got into the backseat of Bumblebee as he turned into the yellow Camaro.

"Clarabear? You mind telling me exactly what's going on here?" Sam asked her.

Clara looked at him. "What's going on here is my sisters are selfish, Optimus won't force them into anything and I want to go home! I don't feel loving, or accommodating or patient, and I just need to go and we have tests to take and I just…can we please go? Rachet can bring Jenna home, Emma's staying here, and I…please just take me home, Sampson?"

Sam really couldn't say 'no' to the look in Clara's eyes when her voice softened like that, so he nodded and they got into Bumblebee, heading away from New Jersey, going back home. Clara couldn't handle being at NEST anymore when suddenly what she was meant for was being stripped away from her, and she was still unable to comprehend why her sisters were being so unaccommodating. This wasn't how it used to be—this wasn't how the Ferguson's had once acted and Clara couldn't handle anything else crumbling around her…she had to fix this.

"You still want to get that apartment with Leo just off campus?" Clara asked Sam suddenly from the passenger seat, Sam glancing over at her, knowing Bumblebee would never let them crash and burn.

Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah, why?"

Clara looked up at him, their eyes meeting. "I want to move in with you."

**

Starscream was a little nervous about sending Machshifter out before he was completely ready, and Megatron actually seemed all right with that, which made Starscream even _more_ nervous. Barricade had been sent out to watch over Clara, and now it seemed like all that was left to do was wait to attack at the right moment—especially when Barricade came back to report that Clara no longer had her necklace. Of course Megatron was furious, but Megatron stopped at nothing and a new plan formed in his mind.

"She must have given the necklace to her precious Optimus—what of the other two?" Megatron asked.

Barricade looked Megatron in the eye. "It seems the other one that lives with her still has hers…but Rachet is watching her closely—as is Glitcher."

Megatron snarled. "Don't mention that traitor's name in my presence, Barricade! He'll get his own in the end…what of the third?"

"The third is still not traceable entirely…but she has her necklace as well—Clara refuses to talk to either of them until they promise to give the necklaces to Optimus." Barricade explained. "Our best course of action at this point is to wait it out until Machshifter is ready for his test…wait until Clara is most vulnerable for capture."

Megatron really hated the notion of waiting, but he knew he couldn't screw things up after The Fallen had _actually_ fallen, so it was in his best interest. Knowing that, he nodded slowly and then looked at Bonecrusher and Destroyer before allowing his attention to be brought back to Barricade. Barricade was the only one so far that had seen through with the plan that he was given, and Megatron had to admit that in the past it had been Barricade that was the most reliable…and Soundwave. In fact thinking on that, Megatron suddenly had a completely new plan—an almost fool proof one at that.

"I want Clara." Megatron stated.

Barricade nodded. "I will bring her to you."

Megatron smiled. "Not just yet, Barricade…when she's at her most vulnerable, I want her brought to me…then we'll see what Optimus will do with her precious necklace."

**

August…it was August now and since she was still not talking to her sisters, Clara had gotten Sam's neighbor, Adriana Bower to help her and Sam move their things into the off campus apartment that was more like a condo in that it was a small house with a driveway. Though iffy about it at first, Clara's parents let her move in with Sam and Leo, and all three of them expecting another roommate in the next few days. Sam and Clara wanted to get the apartment up and running the way they wanted it before Leo showed, and were currently trying to get a couch moved off of the moving truck, Adriana's little Autobot helper Atom distracting everyone and making Glitcher crazy.

Since Adriana lived right next door to Sam, she was very, _very_ aware of the Cybertronian bots, and had even snagged a little Autobot of her own. Atom had gotten rather attached to her and since Optimus was so into free will, she got to keep the bot, and helped come up with random stories to feed to the cops when things went wrong in the Witwicky house…and out on the Witwicky front lawn. She went to school with Jenna and Emma, and since she was in the same grade as them, had classes with them, and was a very welcome addition to their little group of alien secret keepers.

"Hey! Time-bomb! Stop messing around!" Glitcher yelled angrily to Atom.

Jenna sighed as she hauled a box out of her parents' car. "So where is this going you guys? It's the one that _someone_ forgot to label."

Sam looked to Clara for some sort of word but sighed and looked at Jenna himself. "Those are the DVDs that Clara packed for us to have—you can just put them on the counter in between the kitchen and the living room."

"What?" Clara asked him as he gave her a look, Jenna going into the house-like apartment with a sigh. "I told her I wasn't going to talk to her until she gave up the necklace and she made the choice to keep it."

Sam sighed and looked at Adriana who nodded, ready to pick up the couch, Clara nodding too. It was really more like a love-seat, but it was heavy, and when Atom let off a charge—creating diversions being his specialty—Adriana dropped the part of the couch she was holding, causing Clara and Sam to jump, Sam letting out a grunt and then a slightly girlish scream that made Clara laugh. Glitcher couldn't help laughing himself, the parents too busy unloading inside to hear what was going on at first.

"ANDY! THAT WAS MY FOOT!" Sam cried.

Adriana blushed. "Sam, I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean to!"

Sam grunted as Clara hurried over to him, pushing her hair behind her ears and kneeling down to help him lift it off of his foot, looking up into his eyes as he pushed her hand away. It hurt and he didn't want her to touch it, but the second their eyes made contact he couldn't help but smile down at her since she'd hurried over to help him. Blushing herself, Clara backed off a little and stood up, punching Sam in the shoulder and then turning to look at Glitcher and Atom.

"All right Atom, Glitcher is taking you inside to help Jenna. Andy? Let's try this again, all right?" Clara asked with a laugh as Glitcher had to chase Atom first and then forcefully drag him into the apartment.

Adriana nodded and the two picked the couch up again, Adriana looking at Bumblebee as he sat there in the driveway in Camaro form, and when Clara and Sam caught the gaze and started to turn the seat on its side to get it through the door, they all remembered the first time Adriana had seen Bumblebee transform.

"_Maybe you should be a little more careful, Moron!" Clara whisper yelled, Sam shooting her a look._

_Clara normally didn't call Sam names other then her nickname for him, but she was rather upset with him about how he was treating Bumblebee. It had been exactly two days since they had defeated Megatron and the All Spark had been destroyed and Sam was being a little too aggressive. At first Clara wanted to blame Mikaela but she knew that Sam was mainly stressed because part of his Senior Year had been spent in the presence of aliens, and now he had to explain and clean up after the car tracks Bumblebee had accidentally made on his father's lawn._

"_Maybe this isn't __**my**__ fault!" Sam shot back, Adriana stirring as she read her book out in a lawn chair in her back yard._

_Clara sighed. "You can't talk to him like that, Sam! He has feelings! He saved your life!"_

"_I know, but I can get mad about the tire tracks!" Sam responded._

_Clara smacked his arm, and not entirely in the mood for the playful hitting, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, swiping his foot under hers and pinning her to the ground. It wasn't as nice a landing as he usually let her face and she started to struggle against him but he held her there under his weight. Adriana heard the struggle and went to peer over the fence, her eyes widening as the attractive yellow Camaro transformed into a giant robot and poked Sam and Clara, both of them looking up heatedly at the robot as he disturbed them trying to settle their dispute. Clara struggled against Sam again and started to say something, Sam covering her mouth to get in his own words._

"_I'm sorry I yelled, Bee, but you can't track on the lawn like that." Sam told him, Bumblebee nodded and then sighing when Sam yelped as Clara bit his hand him whirling to glare at her._

"_You could make the apology more convincing!" Clara yelled at him._

_Sam shushed her. "Hey! Are you __**trying**__ to wake up my parents?!"_

"_Holy purple monkeys in space! You have a giant robot?!" Adriana asked them loudly, Sam, Bumblebee and Clara all looking at her as she peered over the fence._

_Sam sighed loudly. "Well now look what you did, Clara—you alerted Andy."_

After the furniture they wanted to bring was set up, the parents hugged and kissed and then left, still a little unsure, but trusting their eldest children…and for the Witwicky's their _only_ child. Jenna hugged Clara even though Clara still wasn't speaking to her, and Clara hugged her back, Adriana waving at them all and then talking animatedly to Jenna as they got into the Ferguson's car. Sam and Clara waved their parents off and then turned to each other triumphantly, hurrying into their new abode and locking the door behind them.

"It's like a Sorority only not as big." Clara said happily. "I'm really glad I'm going to get to be here with you and Leo."

"And our other roommate." Sam reminded her from the kitchen as she sat in front of the TV to rummage through video games. "What would you like to eat, Clarabear?"

Clara scrunched up her nose playfully and pondered the question. "Do we have like bagels or something?"

Sam laughed. "What kind of dinner is that?"

"The kind of dinner that two college students such as ourselves _should_ be eating." She replied with a laugh. "And preferably out with Bee."

Sam gazed at her fondly over the counter between them and nodded at her suggestion—she was also the only one that called Bumblebee, 'Bee', besides him. Clara had always been there for Sam, and always believed in Sam, and he had heard Clara's voice saying 'I love you' right before the Primes breathed the life into him and re-forged the Matrix so he could reactivate Optimus…he just never realized it wasn't a brother/sister love then. How he had been so blind to her all these years he really couldn't understand, but he was determined to figure it out…determined to make her understand how he felt in its entirety.

"Something not messy we can eat in Bee—got it." Sam replied.

Clara stood up and went over to the counter, leaning on it and smiling at him. "I'm glad I decided to come back to campus with you, Sampson."

Sam nodded. "Me too, Clarabear…this experience really just wouldn't be the same without you."

With a fond smile and flip of her hair Clara announced she would wait for him in Bumblebee and he watched her go.

He was going to open up her eyes to him…

**Note: Thank you so much to Audi for all of her ideas, and for naming Adriana and Atom and giving me the hurting Sam's foot scene idea. More of this story soon! I apologize now that it was a little on the short side.**


	10. Stumped

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Thank you so much to Audi for some of the Barricade and Starscream dialogue in the second Decepticon part!**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**We're getting into the Clara/Sam romance part.**

**=P**

****

Starscream had been a little skittish around Megatron the last five months, mainly because everyone around him seemed to be being more helpful than he was. He was fairly certain also that Megatron was still a little sore about him making them run when Optimus killed The Fallen in the last battle they had actually encountered. The cowardly bot was cooking up a scheme in his head, trying desperately to figure out how to get back into Megatron's good graces and not quite sure how to do that exactly.

"Your nervousness is kind of distracting." Devastator pointed out as he tinkered away on Machshifter.

Starscream jerked his head in the direction of the fellow Decepticon. "I am simply trying to figure out how exactly to carry out this plan. I would like to be the one to follow Machshifter out for his testing, but the jobs like that are always given to Barricade."

Devastator nodded. "To be fair, Starscream, Barricade is the only one that has gotten close to Clara besides Megatron, so doesn't it seem only fitting he should be the one to go back out into the field to bring her in so that Megatron can in turn lure Optimus here?"

Starscream shrugged. "It seems to me that Barricade gets to have all the fun around here."

At the sound of a noise behind them Starscream gave a small yelp, Devastator laughing when Bonecrusher came in to check on how things were going, leaving and laughing himself at Starscream's reaction. Tossing Devastator a glare, Starscream remembered that it had in fact been Barricade that had cornered Clara when he realized that she wore a symbol of Cybertron—Barricade who had been defeated by Optimus back when the All Spark was still whole. Clara had only ever been close to capture by Barricade and so this mission was personal to him…but Starscream wanted to have his moment in the sun too.

"You're thinking…don't hurt yourself." Devastator told him, attaching a couple pieces together.

Starscream looked at him angrily. "Oh, ha, ha, ha—make fun of the coward."

"Well since you gave me permission to." Devastator said with a laugh and then held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, I've been bored lately…want my advice, Starscream?"

"Yes." Starscream said after a pause. "I really would."

Devastator nodded. "When I get Machshifter up and ready to go, follow even if Megatron doesn't tell you to go—nab Clara before Barricade can, and bring her back here and see how Megatron rewards you."

Starscream started to smile as he ran Devastator's suggestion over and over again in his head and he really couldn't see the problem. If he kidnapped Clara and brought her in, then Megatron would have no choice but to give him more respect, and the other Decepticons would have to stop picking on him all the time. In fact, if Starscream pulled this off he would be the one that would be picked first to go out and gather things up and take people out…even if he wasn't really so happy about battling if Optimus was involved.

"Good idea…let me know when Machshifter is up and running." Starscream told Devastator, and left to go and put his capture plan together.

****

Jenna had decided to bring Adriana with her to NEST because the two of them had graduated early. Almost 18 and out of school, Jenna wishing Clara would talk to them because her 20th birthday was soon, and she knew Sam wanted to throw her a big house-warming/birthday party and it just wouldn't be a good birthday party if her sister wasn't talking to her. Besides, it had been three weeks since Sam and Clara had moved in and though a little less accommodating and more stubborn, she was still the same old Clara since she took the necklace off and handed it over to Optimus…so was giving up the necklaces the way to go? It really didn't help that Rachet and Ironhide were really upset.

"Ironhide! Damn-it, stay still!" Emma yelled, sighing loudly. "I'm really getting sick and tired of your PMS!"

Jenna sighed. "I take it he's still being a big baby about the necklace thing?"

"Who _isn't_ around here?!" Emma asked exasperatedly, shocking Ironhide on purpose to immobilize him. "This is what I'm reduced to doing in order to outfit him with new fucking weapons! Hey, Andy…I'll be down in just a minute and show you guys where your room is. I believe you wanted to help with the communications and Jenna, you wanted to get combat training? I'll run you guys through the tour soon…just let me cross a couple wires and put this thingy in."

"Take your time, Em—really." Adriana told her, looking around the enclave. "Wow…you guys really have all the fun."

"Oh yeah?" Atom asked her, and she smiled and picked the Autobot up, hugging him. "I would never trade you in, At—I just really like it here."

Atom nodded, trying to be supportive of her, but he was a little afraid of being left behind for a bigger more impressive bots. Glitcher felt that way sometimes about Optimus, but Clara had such a big heart with so much love to share, that Glitcher had waved it off mostly. Still, Atom wasn't sure exactly if Adriana was gonna leave him for a bigger bot, and so it was a little harder for him. He knew how much Jenna, Emma and Adriana adored Bumblebee.

"_I think it's kind of awesome that you know about the Autobots, Andy." Jenna told her as they walked to their lockers one morning._

_Adriana smiled at her. "You don't think I'm encroaching on your territory or something?"_

_Emma shook her head. "Nah, we like having someone to talk to about it."_

_Adriana was really glad that her friends had let her into their little circle of secrecy surrounding the friendly robotic aliens, and after grabbing their things out of their lockers, followed them to Sam's. Sam and Clara had a field day that day and were already at Sam's because they got to go home early, and Adriana was dying to see Bumblebee. He was really the only one that any of the girls interacted with besides Atom and Glitcher, and since Sam kept the poor guy locked up, it was a novelty to get to go and talk to him._

"_Hey guys!" Adrian exclaimed happily upon arriving._

_Clara smiled at her. "Hey, Andy! Bee's getting a talking to at the moment."_

_Adriana laughed. "Oh yeah? What did he do this time?"_

_Clara laughed too. "Ask Sam—he's the one that's been touchy lately."_

_Adriana nodded and went into the garage, smiling at Bumblebee as Sam went past her, waving and heading out to see Clara. If there was one thing that everyone knew, it was that Clara and Sam were closer than they were letting on…but Bumblebee was __**much**__ more interesting to Adriana._

"Where is Optimus?" Adriana asked Jenna as she came into the enclave as well.

Jenna looked around and shrugged a little. "He's probably out patrolling or checking on Clara. He does that a lot…if he were human, I'd think he'd try and marry her or something."

Adriana laughed awkwardly. "What? That's ridiculous. Do Autobots even think like that?"

Jenna shrugged and laughed. "I know Emma wishes Ironhide did."

****

Starscream was certainly trying to upstage Barricade, but it wasn't working in his favor too much. Barricade was in one of his moods, and Starscream was fidgety and had no idea what he was going to do. After a little while, Barricade was getting a little upset with the noise that Starscream was making and talked to him and tried hard not to look away from Clara and Sam and Leo from a hiding place outside their apartment.

"Will you keep it down over there, Starscream? I'm trying to spy." Barricade told him exasperatedly.

"Keep it down I'm trying to spy!" Starscream mimicked annoyed. "Well I'm trying to spy also if you didn't notice!"

Barricade raised a metal eyebrow as he looked at the bot. "You call not even looking in the right apartment spying?"

"What?" Starscream asked, and then watched as Barricade pointed into the apartment, Clara's back to the window. "I caught something shiny in the window and I thought it might be a necklace."

Barricade laughed as the Decepticon started to pout and then looked back into the window. It was a little harder with Leo in the apartment now, but that situation could easily be rectified if given the right time. Eventually Clara would be by herself and even if she wasn't, Machshifter could _easily_ pose as a college student…maybe as their new roommate.

"Well maybe if you got your spark untangled and thought for once, maybe I wouldn't have to be babysitting you." Barricade sighed.

Starscream gasped. "BABYSITTING?! I don't know what you think Megatron thinks of you, but you're certainly not at a higher station than ME!"

Barricade scoffed at him. "I'd say that I'm definitely superior to you, Starscream. You're cowardly, ridiculous, incompentent, and no one would trust you to do anything."

Starscream glared at Barricade. "If it weren't for my cowardliness Megatron and I wouldn't not be here!"

"Maybe it would be a good thing if you _weren't_ here." Barricade said nonchalantly. "And hey, don't come back, okay?"

With another angry glare and a little gasp, Starscream transformed and flew off, Barricade shaking his head and watching as Clara shook her head. She seemed to be rather annoyed with Leo at the moment, and Barricade started to get ideas…started to get ideas about what to do with Machshifter…about how to use Machshifter.

****

Clara rolled her eyes as Leo told a story about a Freshman girl he had the hots for, and popped a Doritoe into her mouth. She wasn't really in Leo's story for the 'ass he was gonna get this year', but she couldn't deny she thought he was funny. Leo always had _some_ kind of ridiculous story to tell and he'd had them even when Sam had introduced them to each other. Used to them or not though, Clara hadn't quite registered in her mind that she was signing on to hear those stories over and over again.

"Wait a minute, so…you haven't actually spoken to her?" Sam asked Leo.

Leo shrugged. "I don't have to speak to her, Sam—her body speaks to me."

Clara rolled her eyes. "Oh my God you're easy."

Leo laughed. "Hey, at least I'm gonna get a little something, something this year. What about you, huh? I don't see _you_ getting any boyfriends this year."

"Hey, lay off her, Leo." Sam said suddenly.

Clara and Leo were _both_ a little thrown off by Sam's sudden anger on the subject, but he waved it off. Leo raised an eyebrow for a second but dove right into another story and Clara couldn't help but dwell on it. Why was Sam so upset with the talk of her getting a boyfriend when she and him had discussed it in Bumblebee? The two of them had to move on, and though she knew he wasn't entirely on board, he had agreed. In fact, Sam had told her he already had someone else lined up.

"_Yay for bagels!" Clara exclaimed as Sam got into Bumblebee._

_Bumblebee laughed a little, hoping the two would finally up and deal with the sexual tension between them. He'd seen the way they'd always interacted with each other, and he wanted more than anything for them both to be happy. It had become abundantly clear to him and to everyone else around them that they were perfect for each other, but they were too stubborn to see it. Sam finally realizes that he has feelings for her, and suddenly Clara needs more…she was silly._

"_I got us some popcorn too." Sam told her with a smile._

_Clara laughed a little and took a bite of her bagel. "I think we should talk about the living arrangements, Sampson…like how we should get ourselves some relationships—and not bring them back to the apartment—that's just tacky."_

_Sam swallowed a little. "So you want to get a boyfriend this year that isn't me?"_

"_Well come on, Sampson…it would be awkward for Leo." Clara tried._

_Sam nodded. "Oh yeah, completely."_

_She knew he didn't quite mean it, but he was trying to support her, and she was trying to be strong. All she wanted was to be with Sam, but it was too hard every time she saw Mikaela's face in her mind's eye. Mikaela had been in love with Sam, and now Sam had changed his mind and Clara could only imagine what it was like to be in her shoes. So she talked to Sam about her plans for the new living arrangement, even if she didn't at all believe her own reasonings anymore._

"I think it's about time I decided to go ahead and get my act together and bought my school books. I mean I know we still have a few weeks, and our roommate shows up tomorrow, but I mean, come on—less party and more study." Clara said with a laugh, popping another Doritoe into her mouth.

Leo groaned. "Oh my God, is she going to be a downer like this _all_ the time, Bro? Cause I'd like to bring chicks into a much less studious environment."

Clara laughed and rolled her eyes. "Like anyone's coming home with you, Leo."

"Yeah and besides—Clara and I already made a very strict no bringing people home rule." Sam told Leo with a shrug.

"What? Come on, guys! You have another roommate!" Leo protested.

"Yeah," Clara laughed, "one who's not getting laid."

Leo's mouth gaped open and he stormed into his room, Sam laughing and then turning to Clara who blushed when she realized he was gazing at her and quickly took her hair out of her ponytail. She grabbed the bag of Doritoes and sat on the couch, turning on the TV and trying to ignore that Sam was sitting right next to her…and that he smelled rather fantastic at that particular moment. She even somehow managed to just bite her lip when Sam ran his toes up and down her leg and tucked hair behind her ear.

"I still don't understand why you won't be my girlfriend." Sam told her softly.

Clara turned to look him in the eye and realized she didn't have an answer for him anymore.

Clara no longer had any reasons to ignore Sam Witwicky…


	11. VERY IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE****:**

_**Hey guys.**_

_**I have some bad news…**_

_**So last night my laptop died…and I haven't backed it up for two months.**_

_**What does that mean?**_

_**That means I have lost a whole lot.**_

_**That means I have no new updates and probably won't for a while.**_

_**I'm on my mother's computer right now and I don't know when I'm gonna get my laptop fixed or when I'm gonna get my documents back.**_

_**They think that since it's a driver/hardware problem they can fix it and recover my stuff.**_

_**We'll see.**_

_**Mom and I have fixing it on the highest priority—we're trying to get it done by Tuesday, but I don't know.**_

_**For those of you that don't know, I am going to Pennsylvania bright and early on the 22**__**nd**__**, and won't be back until the 28**__**th**__**.**_

_**However we also just got a new place and will be moving in there when I get back and I won't have Internet access until a week after that…or longer depending on how severe this laptop problem is.**_

_***makes a not happy face***_

_**I just wanted to let you guys know that it could be a while before I get anything updated at all and I'm kind of really messed up over it.**_

_**I seriously HATE losing documents.**_

_**I apologize that you guys have to wait forever again.**_

_**I love you all for your support of me.**_

**Kyla aka Pyro**


	12. Admissions

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I'm sorry that it has been soooooo long!**

**Okay, so here is another chapter.**

**Also, you're going to get a glimpse at Machshifter…**

**I hope you're excited!**

**=D**

xxxx

Devastator looked over his work and smiled at himself—he knew that no matter what happened next, he was going to get this done. He was following Megatron to the end, and he knew that Clara was the most vulnerable. Besides, with Machshifter now part of the plan, there was no way this could go wrong…none.

"Are you sure he's ready?" Barricade asked Devastator.

Devastator smiled over his work. "Yes…yes he's ready."

"Then we'll head out." Barricade told him with a nod. "It's time."

xx

Clara swallowed and then she found herself crashing her lips into Sam's without so much as a second thought. He wasn't with Mikaela, he wanted to be with her, and so what else was she supposed to do? She'd been pining for him for ages and now…now here he was looking for an answer and if she couldn't even argue with herself, then what was the point in trying to?

Sam just smiled and slid his fingers into her hair, kissing her back with the same intensity and welcoming her onto his lap. He really couldn't understand how he could have overlooked her all these years, but he knew that now he had her. He hadn't ever felt this way before either…he wasn't sure what was happening but he knew when she pulled away from him that _that_ was _not_ what he wanted.

"Wait…wait…" Clara told him softly.

Sam shook his head. "Clara…why?"

"I…how…how do I know I'm not just a rebound?" Clara asked him. "I know this is so not fair to you, and I'm being all hot and cold but…Sam you thought you _loved_ Mikaela…how can you just _not_ love her anymore? I've been waiting for a _very_ long time for you, and…I just…Sam…I'm scared."

"I _know_ you're scared." Sam told her, holding her in place as she tried to get off of his lap. "Just…please stop running. Can't you at least try this with me? Give me a chance? Please?"

Clara took a deep breath and nodded slowly, kissing him again because it was all she wanted. Besides, she and Sam had made it this far and she really didn't want to ruin this by talking too much. Unfortunately, Leo came out as the kiss between Clara and Sam started to escalate. The two broke apart as a noise erupted from Leo's throat and they all looked at each other.

"What the Hell guys?" Leo asked quickly. "I thought you _just_ said that we weren't bringing anyone home! I come out to get myself a sandwich and you guys are all over each other!"

Clara rolled her eyes. "1) we didn't bring each other home and 2) we were _not_ all over each other."

"You were swallowing each other!" Leo protested, pointing at her. "I get to bring people home."

"Fine, you get to bring people home." Sam said and waved his hand towards the kitchen. "How about you grab some food out of the fridge and go back to your room?"

Clara laughed and blushed a little. "At least let me make him a sandwich before we kind of banish him to his room for the rest of the night."

"Can't you two go into Sam's room or something?" Leo asked with a pout.

Clara laughed and got off of Sam's lap, smiling happily and quickly going into the kitchen to make Leo a sandwich. She was blushing and she knew it, still feeling the feel of Sam's lips on hers, and his fingers running along her scalp—it had just felt so wonderful. She shook her head and smiled a little, Sam and Leo watching her, Clara handing Leo the sandwich after a moment. He took the plate and looked at the sandwich before looking at her, and then at Sam.

"Yeah…can't you guys go at it in your car or something?" Leo asked them.

Immediately Clara and Sam went, "No!"

"Well…because…" Sam tried as Leo raised his eyebrows.

"Because that's tacky—slutty even." Clara responded lamely with a shrug. "We're definitely _not_ going at it with each other in his car."

Sam opened up his mouth to say something else, but there was a knock on their door and Clara went to open it. When she saw the attractive blonde young adult man standing there, she smiled at him and then she saw the bags—he must be the new roommate. He wasn't supposed to be there yet, but the fact that he was early meant that they had to welcome him in and help him unpack…Sam would have to come later.

"Hi…I'm Clara." Clara told him, holding out her hand.

He smiled at her and shook her hand. "I'm Mark…your new roommate."

"Well come on in, Mark." Clara said, grabbing the duffel on the ground and smiling at him. "I'll show you to your room."

"Three studs and one chick…you should watch yourself or your chick is going to stray." Leo told Sam in hushed voice and for a moment, Sam believed him.

xx

Barricade was pacing a little bit once he had sent Machshifter off to impersonate a college student. Machshifter's whole purpose was to get close to Clara and eventually lead her someplace that Barricade could kidnap her and bring her to Megatron. It was the best plan that they had, but it had to be timed _perfectly_—especially because Clara needed to have the other necklaces in her possession seeing as how Jenna and Emma were too well guarded for an attack.

"Machshifter to Barricade." Came a voice over a secure system.

Barricade smiled. "Barricade here—are you in place?"

"Yes…Clara let me in and I introduced myself as Mark." Machshifter informed him, looking at his human visage in a nearby mirror. "She does not suspect a thing."

"Perfect. Tell me, Machshifter…did you get noticed by anyone?" Barricade asked him slowly, really needing this plan to go off without a hitch.

"There _is_ an Autobot here that seemed a little tweaked that I was around." Machshifter nodded, running his fingers through his black hair.

Barricade nodded slowly. "Take him out if you must."

"Affirmative." Machshifter said with a nod. "I will contact you tomorrow. Machshifter out."

Barricade smiled a little bit as the communication between them was terminated, the smile leaving his robotic face as Starscream entered the room. He was checking in for Megatron to see what was happening, and it always brought him great pleasure to make Barricade upset.

"How is the plan faring?" Starscream asked Barricade.

Barricade let out a heavy sigh. "What is it to you Starscream?"

"What is it to me is that Megatron would like to have an update." Starscream explained condescendingly.

"I can tell him about the plan myself." Barricade told him, pushing on him as he went past him. "Do not test my patience, Starscream."

xx

Jenna was starting to waiver on whether or not to give up her necklace way before Emma even thought about caving. She didn't actually _want_ to, but she was starting to feel like maybe she would be a little bit more into her physical training if she was doing it all on her own—not banking on some enhancement bestowed on her by her parents because of the Autobots. Besides, she really hated that by not giving up the necklaces, she was at odds with the Autobots when they all used to be such good friends.

"Emma is _not_ in a good mood today." Adriana told Jenna as she entered her room at N.E.S.T. and sat down on her bed. "She's extra cranky today and I really can't figure out what it is that I'm supposed to do."

Jenna took a deep breath and shrugged. "She, uh…she just feels like she's going to lose her gift if she takes the necklace off. This is what she has _always_ wanted to do and to suddenly learn that she may not have the _natural talent_ to do it is hard for her."

"Optimus _specifically_ said that it _enhanced_ the natural talent you three _already possessed_." Adriana reminded her.

"Yes, but enhanced it by how much?" Jenna asked her sadly. "How do we know just by how much these necklaces enhanced our natural capabilities?"

"You don't…but the necklaces also aren't exactly yours." Adriana told her, shrugging when Jenna looked at her.

Jenna nodded slowly. "I get that…but they still kind of are. I don't understand how Clara can just give up her necklace like that."

"Because her love for Sam was great enough _without_ the necklace," Adriana replied with a soft shrug. "It's not as hard for her as it is for you."

Jenna nodded slowly because honestly she understood that—Clara's love for Sam wouldn't lessen, it would just be a little less intense. Maybe that would be the way that it was for her and Emma—maybe they would still be just as good, they just wouldn't feel as driven to use their strengths. It was a risk that Jenna was thinking that she was going to have to take, so she unclasped the necklace with a sigh and then slid it off, feeling a slight shift but not really feeling much different. She handed the necklace to Adriana and then started to spar with her punching bag, feeling glad that she still felt powerful and still knew what to do.

"All right…I feel a smidge less powerful than before, but there's a slight empowerment that comes with knowing that was all me." Jenna admitted with a laugh as she took her necklace back. "I'm going to go check in with Rachet and then see Emma."

Adriana nodded and wished her luck, going back to her own work and chatting with Atom while Jenna walked up to Rachet. He was working on his own work but he always made time for his human charge, and he almost smiled when Jenna held out the necklace to him. She had made her decision and now it was only Emma that they were all waiting on.

"You don't give that to me, Jenny." Rachet told her kindly. "Clara still has hers too, it's just off. Together they will lead you to the Everflower, but they have to be combined…which means Emma needs to take hers off. The hitch? She has to _choose_ to take it off or it won't work. That's the _only_ reason that the Decepticons haven't attacked yet. We can't touch them…not until they've combined again."

Jenna nodded slowly and brought the necklace closer to her again. "Oh…well that makes things a little more difficult than I had originally thought…I'm going to go and talk to Emma."

"Just be gentle." Rachet explained to her.

"Well I certainly won't be forceful." Jenna replied with a laugh.

She left to go and find Emma, who was working away on some new armor, and seemed incredibly upset when she looked up and Jenna was no longer wearing her necklace. Emma started to shake her head and reached up to touch her own, really not wanting to lose it even though she knew she had to give it up. It just didn't seem fair…it just really didn't seem fair at all.

"How does it feel?" Emma asked her sister slowly.

Jenna smiled a little. "Weird…but good."

"How does losing your gift feel good?" Emma asked her suddenly. "How does losing the one thing you're good at feel good?"

"It feels good to know that it's all you." Jenna said with a shrug. "I'm not _as_ good as before, but I'm still amazing—you will be too."

xx

Clara laughed a little bit when Sam reached out and pulled her down onto his lap on the couch, both of them kissing each other swiftly and then snuggling into each other. It already seemed so easy, and for a moment Clara paused and Sam realized that something was wrong. She got up and went back to her room, heading over to her dresser and then looking back at Sam who had followed her.

"Close the door, please?" She asked him.

Sam nodded and closed the door, looking at her with a grin on his face that faded when she got into her dresser drawer and pulled out her necklace. She held it in her hand and just looked at it a moment, knowing that she was drawn to it because of her already intense emotions—one of her sisters had taken it off. At first she was stumped as to which one had done it, but then it was clear as Sam took a couple of steps towards her.

"Jenna took off her necklace." Clara said softly, looking up at him.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "How do you know that?"

"Because I know that one of them did and it's probably not Emma." Clara replied with a nod. "Emma is the one that thinks she has the most to lose, so it's going to take her longer to decide to give it up. It's almost time to deal with this."

"That sounds ominous, honestly." Sam told her, closing the distance between them and resting his hands on her hips and looking at her. "I'll be with you every step of the way though, Clara—you know that, right?"

Clara nodded happily. "Yeah…yeah, I know."

She kissed him softly and then put the necklace back in the drawer, turning around and kissing him again once the necklace was safe, loving the feel of his lips on hers. This was what she had always wanted, and she couldn't be bothered with anything else when things were the way she wanted. What she wasn't aware of, was Machshifter outside her door—so there was only one necklace left.

The plan was in motion…

**Note: Sorry it has been so long! Next chapter really soon, I promise! It'll have a lot of Sam/Clara too, okay?**


	13. Feelings

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**It has been like, **_**forever **_**but I've been having a rough time, and I haven't had Microsoft Office on my Netbook anymore and blah, blah, blah.**

**What matters is I'm back and have Office back on my Netbook so you guys get to have some updates.**

**This chapter is pretty light-hearted and happy…there is a **_**little**_** bit of angst, and there's definitely some Decepticons and some Machshifter being intrusive, but it's still a pretty happy chapter.**

**I **_**promise**_** that what you guys want to happen between Sam and Clara will soon, okay?**

**ENJOY!**

xxxx

Clara smiled as she and Sam kissed each other intently, Sam stroking her hair and holding her close as he laid on top of her. She laughed a little calmly as Sam pulled back and looked her in the eye, stroking her cheek with his fingertips. Sam grinned at her and pecked her lips with his own momentarily, running his nose along hers.

"Something tells me you're going to kick me out…" Sam said softly. "Is it because I'm moving too fast because I can slow down. I don't want you to be uncomfortable or anything, Clara. I can slow down—I can move at snail speed if you want me to."

Clara laughed and shook her head. "Just the opposite, actually—sleep in here with me? It'll be like old times in the middle of the night when one of us had a rough night and snuck in, only this time you'll be falling asleep in here to begin with, Sampson."

"I like that idea, Clarabear." Sam admitted, nodding and then standing up to head to his room. "I should go put some night clothes on then."

"Or…you could just take your shirt and your pants off and sleep in your boxers." Clara shrugged, winking and then blushing a bit.

It had always been so much easier for her to joke with him when he was her best friend and he was dating other people. Everything felt so different now that he was technically her boyfriend…like everything had new rules. Clara just wanted everything to go back to being perfect, because she didn't understand some of these new feelings swirling around inside of her. She didn't understand how this could be so easy and yet so hard with him.

"Clara Ferguson, are you trying to seduce me?" Sam asked her as he pulled his shirt off over his head, Clara's cheeks turning another shade of red as they darted along his body. "Because I gotta tell you, it's working."

Clara found the strength to roll her eyes. "Whatever, Sampson. Just take your clothes off and come to bed."

Sam laughed as Clara did at how incredibly dirty that had sounded, but he complied and then rolled his eyes when Clara told him not to watch. It was her room, with her chest of drawers, and she wanted to put her pajamas on. She grabbed out the set she wanted and then pulled the shirt off over her head, squeaking when she saw Sam looking at her once the shirt was off. She used it to cover herself, Sam chuckling and getting out of the bed, standing in front of her.

"I told you not to look!" Clara chastised him, shaking her head. "What are you doing?"

Sam cupped her face, kissing her gently. "Just take your clothes off, leave your underwear on, and climb into bed with me, Clarabear."

"That's not moving at snail speed, Sampson—and it sounds extra dirty if you use the childhood nickname." Clara pointed out, protesting when he tried to take her shirt from her and move it from being in between them. "Sampson…"

"You trust me, right?" He asked her, smiling and nodding when she nodded at him. "Well, then…trust me now. It's just sleeping next to each other in our under garments, how harmful is that?"

"It might give you ideas when we wake up," Clara teased, but she kissed Sam and dropped the shirt on a nearby chair and then pushed Sam towards her bed, both of them still kissing until she got under the covers, weaseling her jeans off as Sam laughed and rolled his eyes some more.

He looked at her. "So you get to watch me take _my _clothes off, but I don't get to watch _you_ strip down? That's not very fair, Clarabear—you're a tease."

"But a lovable one," Clara countered, snuggling up against Sam.

Feeling her skin against him made him just nod and pull her in close, kissing her head as she wrapped her arms around him and held him under the covers. Then after a little bit of bantering, Sam reluctantly got up to turn off the light—he'd wanted to watch Clara do it. Still, he wasn't pushing her, and he knew when to tease, when to push, and when to simply back off. Clara kissed him gently as he climbed back into the bed with her and then she turned over onto her side, Sam pulling her close to her and spooning her affectionately, placing a gentle kiss behind her ear before whispering a 'goodnight' and just enjoying having her there.

xx

Megatron did not want to be bothered. In fact, Megatron was in the mood to rip some Autobots in half—or Decepticons, right then he wasn't too picky. All he knew was that even though Machshifter was in place, the only way that he could win this was to make sure that Clara and her sisters did what was expected of them. Megatron didn't want to be the one to find the Everflower…he wanted to be the one to _harness_ its power.

"Sire, Machshifter has reported back in." Starscream explained with a sweeping bow. "It seems we are close at hand."

Megatron looked at the Decepticon before him. "Exactly how close, Starscream?"

"One necklace left to collect." Starscream said quickly. "Machshifter believes it's only a matter of time."

"I am tired of waiting…we need a Plan B." Megatron told Starscream, even though he was really talking more to himself than to the Decepticon.

"We kidnap Clara—force her last sister to take off the necklace." Barricade suggested out of nowhere.

More than anything, Starscream hated it when Barricade showed up and tried to make Megatron think that he was better. Starscream felt like he was just as good as Barricade was, if not better sometimes. Still, Megatron seemed to trust Barricade so much more with practically everything.

"Kidnap Clara…that does seem most beneficial." Megatron agreed with a nod.

Starscream nodded too. "I'll do it, Sire!"

"Machshifter certainly shouldn't—we need him to keep an eye on Sam Whitwicky." Barricade added, looking at Starscream. "You? I believe I am much more qualified—I have kidnapped her before."

_Clara tried to take deep breaths as she searched for a way out of the car she was trapped in but there was no use—Barricade had her trapped. She knew that Optimus and Sam would come for her, but it bothered her that she was practically helpless. Clara was a lot of things, but helpless had never been in her vocabulary of description._

"_What do you want with me?" She asked as she sat in the Decepticon who had taken the shape of a police car._

_Barricade slowed down a little bit, but kept his doors locked. "Megatron wishes a counsel with you."_

"_I don't have anything to say to Megatron." Clara responded, crossing her arms over her chest._

"_Then you can die—it's your choice, really, Clara." Barricade responded coldly._

_Clara swallowed, not liking that option one bit. In the end, she agreed to go to Megatron and once she was there, evaded the questions long enough to be saved. She hated playing the part of the damsel in distress, but being saved by Optimus and Sam definitely had her in a better mood. It meant that they cared about her…meant that she was worth saving._

"I can do this, Sire!" Starscream countered, shaking his head. "I can easily lure her, as she has seen Barricade enough now to recognize him."

Megatron nodded slowly. "So be it, Starscream…but do not disappoint me."

xx

When Clara awoke that morning, Sam and his clothes were already gone. Clara laughed a little and then got up and took a shower, getting out and blow-drying her hair before getting dressed. She then headed out into the main are and saw Machshifter, Sam and Leo already setting out some actually breakfast. Clara could tell that Sam had cooked and they both knew that though it was for Clara, Sam was passing it off as welcoming Machshifter into the fold.

"So, Mark," Sam was saying as Clara sat next to Machshifter at the counter on a bar stool. "What classes are you taking?"

Machshifter smiled a little bit. "I'm taking all the second level entry level classes I have to take for a general two-year degree…I went overboard on electives last semester."

"I hear you, bro," Leo agreed with a nod. "I need to take some core classes or I'm not ever graduating."

"Like you were before," Clara teased, smiling and returning Sam's kiss as he leaned over and kissed her gently, scooping eggs onto her plate from the skillet at the same time. "Sam and I will have to leave you in the dust."

She was looking into Sam's eyed as she said it, addressing Leo but not able to hide how happy she was that she and Sam were a couple. They were an _actual _couple. It had taken them a long time to get there, but they were together and they were trying. Clara wasn't trying to run and Sam wasn't pushing. The two of them could get through this if they tried and that was simply that.

"You two are disgustingly cute." Leo said making a face. "No PDA—new rule."

Sam rolled his eyes. "You don't make the rules, Leo, and trust me there is a _really_ good reason for that."

"You're just upset that I'm going out on a date with you ex-girlfriend." Leo told him with a laugh.

Clara's ears perked up at that and she studied Sam's face as he focused on the rest of the breakfast he was preparing. She had definitely missed a bit of male bonding that was for sure…Leo dating Mikaela, huh? Clara didn't know how she felt about that, and even more, she didn't know how she felt about Sam being upset about it. The worst part was that he was trying to act like he _wasn't_ upset for Clara's sake, but he most certainly was. Visibly, Clara could tell that the idea of Leo and Mikaela bothered him tremendously.

"When did this happen?" Clara asked cautiously, Machshifter watching them all rather intently.

Leo shrugged a little bit. "Last night. She called for Sam but he was in your room with you and Mark and I figured you weren't coming out, so she and I talked a bit, I asked her out, and she accepted."

"Obviously she's trying to make me jealous." Sam said aloud, cursing himself mentally when it dawned on him what Clara thought of that statement.

"Maybe she just really wants to give Leo a chance to change her mind about him." Clara offered as she ate some eggs, hurting a bit at Sam's tone of voice.

She didn't want to dwell on it, and part of her felt like Sam had every right to be a little jealous, but she didn't like it. Clara didn't like that it sounded like to her, that Sam wasn't as over Mikaela as he had been trying to make Clara believe and that hurt. She couldn't help that nor change the feeling and she had to just accept it.

"I'll be over there," Clara said suddenly, picking up her plate and heading over to the dining table.

Machshifter followed her over there and sat down next to her, Sam frowning at the two and Leo shaking his head. He wasn't the smartest of the bunch and he _definitely_ needed to sort out his priorities, but Leo knew when a girl was upset. Leo wasn't even thrilled that Sam and Clara were technically dating now…but Clara was his friend and so was Sam. He felt like he owed them a little bit.

Even though he got on peoples' nerves, Clara had always had some faith in him, and so Leo always felt like he was indebted to her. As for Sam, he'd brought Autobots and Decepticons into his world and Leo had known from that point forward that everything that he had believed in was true. So if he needed to help them to stay together, then he needed to help them stay together. He had expected Mikaela to turn him down like she always did, so he was just as surprised as Sam.

"Look, dude," Leo said with a heavy sigh. "I will lay off the jokes about Mikaela because it's obviously too soon, but you have to stop cutting Clara out. Do you know how long that chick waited for you to get your act together? You're pushing her away and it's stupid, and we all have to live here, remember? Man up."

Sam was surprised that something so smart was actually coming out of Leo's mouth and he opened his mouth to counter him, but shut it quickly. Leo was right—if Sam kept pushing, whatever way that pushing was, he was going to lose Clara for good. He couldn't do that…he _loved_ her. Sam needed to make this up to her and he had to make sure that Machshifter didn't make a move on her.

"I'm sorry that your boyfriend isn't over his ex yet…that's hard." Machshifter told Clara, resting his hand on hers.

Clara slowly took her away and smiled at him. "It's okay, Mark—they were together for a little bit so it's fine. First love is always hard to forget."

"He still shouldn't rub it in your face like that." Machshifter said with a shrug. "Want to go and take a walk with me? I could use the company…"

"Um…sure…I guess we could walk and tour and everything. Right after my eggs." Clara promised with a soft smile on her face.

Clara didn't mind getting to know her new roommate and potentially showing him parts of the campus that he hadn't seen yet. Sam wasn't happy to hear that part of the conversation, but he and Leo sat down and ate breakfast with Clara and Machshifter and then Clara went to grab her jacket. She kissed Sam swiftly to let him know that she was coming back, but Sam knew she was hurt. What was he doing here?

What none of them knew except for Machshifter, was that Starscream was watching them…waiting for the right moment to make his move. He wanted as little trouble as possible, and maybe Machshifter could help him with this. Then again, perhaps Starscream could do this _without_ Machshifter and then Megatron had no choice but to be proud. That's it…Starscream could do this all on his own and Megatron would be proud.

"It's only a matter of time," Starscream said to himself.

**Note: All right, so there you have it. The next chapter focuses on the other three gals and on Starscream stalking Clara, with of course some Clara and Sam in there. Feedback is always appreciated!**


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